Starting Over
by iisAnonymousperson
Summary: After the war, Harry is withdrawn, through no fault of his own. Staying silent and observing, Harry finds three others who are still loyal to him. And it's not Ron, Hermione and Ginny. It's three of the most unexpected people. A meeting is arranged, after curfew on 28 December and the four end up spending hours getting to know each other. Then The Event occurs. Full summary inside.
1. Part 1: Prologue

**Summary:** Looking back on it, Harry should have known this would happen. But he just didn't think it was possible at all this time around - he'd just saved their lives, hadn't he?

He supposed it was a good thing he was orphaned in the war. Draco shuddered to imagine what his father thought of the situation.

The ban Gran placed on Neville was pushing it. It wasn't just a ban - it was fortified with magic.

It was such a shame, really, that things worked out the way it did. Luna, of course, knew all of it would happen.

After the final battle, things go back to normal. Harry, Ron and Hermione all go to school for one last year and one last adventure, one without Voldemort. Harry and Ginny are living their lives happily and have great plans for a great future.

At least, that's how it was supposed to happen.

Instead, everyone begins to fear Harry. If he could defeat Him, then who's to say he won't follow the same path? Who's to say he won't go dark?

Harry is falling into a depression that he can't seem to escape. The ones he depends on most have abandoned him and the one who hasn't can't speak to him. He feels like he's drowning and there are leads attached to him, helping him along.

Neville does his best, honest, but there isn't much he can do, thanks to Gran. He wants to help, but he physically can't, and it's slowly killing him. Maybe... no, that wouldn't work.

Luna does her best as well. The creatures she sees are messing with his head, and no matter hard she tries, she can't help him get rid of them. Maybe someday, somehow.

Draco doesn't do much - it's not his place. He's been nothing but hurtful to Harry, but he regrets that, really. It will take time to get Harry to trust him. He wants to help but he knows it'll be rebuffed. Right?

A meeting where they all get to know each other gets interrupted. The ball of light shouldn't be trusted, but Luna say's it's safe. So when Luna wakes up ten years old again, she has four months to prepare for her friends' arrivals.

{*•.•*}

 ** _Prologue/Excerpt/Preview_**

Looking back on it, Harry should have known this would happen. It had, after all, been a reoccurring pattern in his life. He does something good, everyone either hates or loves him. Or they all hate him for something he didn't do. But he didn't think it would be possible at all this time around. He had just saved their lives, hadn't he? Oh, but somehow it got out that his blood was used to revive Him – never mind the fact that it was Forcibly Taken. And now, his family was afraid of him. Ron and Hermione avoided him at all costs and Ginny had stopped talking to him. He was falling into depression already, and they just helped the process along. His only solace was the three people that didn't fear him. His only problem: one was banned from speaking to him, another was a Ravenclaw who spent all her time alone and the last... the last was Malfoy. Harry pretended he only saw the sneers and insults, and not the puzzled glances and slight upturn of the lips.

He supposed it was a good thing he was orphaned in the war. Draco shuddered to imagine what his father thought of the situation. Honestly, the world was better off without the man. Narcissa was an okay mother, he figured, as far as mothers went, but she always went with whatever Lucius wanted. It was funny, how they were Narcissa and Lucius, not mother and father, but honestly – they pushed him to become a Death Eater, and when he refused, they allowed Him to do what He wanted. As far as Draco was concerned, they lost the title of parents long ago. But the reason of the shuddering – Draco was... curious – what made Potter the so called "Chosen One" – why? And how, for Merlin and Morgana's sakes, did he walk to his own death? Draco admitted that he respected the boy for that. A longer search into what made Potter... Potter, revealed some rather interesting finds. Glances when no one noticed were often sent Potter's direction. Draco didn't notice the barest hint of a smile that often accompanied the looks.

The ban Gran placed on Neville was pushing it. It wasn't just a ban - it was fortified with magic. Neville couldn't speak one word about his friend, couldn't talk to him. The first time he tried, he went to the hospital wing for the rash that appeared everywhere and hadn't tried again. But he was also one of the only ones who still genuinely cared. Harry was falling into a depression. It was getting worse too. He'd have nightmares, but nobody felt the need to help him. They'd scoff and say that he was looking to gain followers like His. Harry was drowning and they were the lead balls tied to his feet. But Neville quickly found a loophole – he could offer comforting smiles and if he got lucky, the occasional hug. Neville took it upon himself to be the floaty that counteracted the weights. But his Gran had gone too far this time. Neville thought he couldn't ever forgive her for this. Nearly disowning him for possible lack of magic, yes, but choosing who he could interact with? Never.

It was such a shame, really, that things worked out the way it did. Luna, of course, knew all of it would happen. She wasn't a seer, per say, but rather had inherited an interesting trait. She could see past and personality and draw scarily accurate predictions of the future. She could also see magics – aura, most often, but the magical creatures no one else would ever be able to see also made themselves known. She knew that nobody believed her when she spoke of the creatures, but they were there – influencing every little thing. Luna knew what would happen to herself and the other three who had the neutral aura. It wasn't dark nor light nor was it a fixed shade. While everyone else's aura was a bright color – blue or green or red – the four (Luna included) had a color that was a mixture of black and white. While everyone else's aura was a single shade their whole lives, theirs shifted depending on mood and health. The sight was part of what made Luna so good at predictions.


	2. Part 2: Chapter 1

**Yes, I know it is a bit repetitive - honestly, that was supposed to be the summary, but due word limitations I had to break it down into the little thing you say at the beginning of the Prologue/Excerpt/Preview. But that was the condensed version, the Prologue itself is the full summary. Confusing, I know. I'll fix it when my computer begins working again - this is nearly impossible on a phone.**

Looking back on it, Harry should have known this would happen. It had, after all, been a reoccurring pattern in his life. He does something good, everyone either hates or loves him. Or they all hate him for something he didn't do. But he didn't think it would be possible at all this time around. He had just saved their lives, hadn't he? Oh, but somehow it got out that his blood was used to revive Him – never mind the fact that it was Forcibly Taken. And now, his family was afraid of him. Ron and Hermione avoided him at all costs and Ginny had stopped talking to him. He was falling into depression already, and they just helped the process along. His only solace was the three people that didn't fear him. His only problem: one was banned from speaking to him, another was a Ravenclaw who spent all her time alone and the last... the last was Malfoy. Harry pretended he only saw the sneers and insults, and not the puzzled glances and slight upturn of the lips.

It was the breakup that hurt the most. Ron and Hermione had been avoiding him, but it was Ginny's words that broke him. Life had calmed down somewhat. Voldemort defeated, the Death Eaters on the run. Of course, there were still pockets everywhere. Despite having calmed, life sucked. Everyone was afraid of him. They did a good job of hiding it, but he could see the furtive, terrified glances he'd receive in the halls and by the lake. There were only three who didn't fear him.

And no, it was Hermione or Ron, as one might suspect. Oh no, number one was Neville. That wasn't entirely surprising, considering he was almost the "Prophecy Kid". New friend number two was Luna Lovegood – not that it was surprising. Really, Harry expected it from Luna, who had always done her own thing. It was person number three who startled Harry. Draco Malfoy was his usual, condescending self. Sneers, hateful glares were often sent Harry's way. However, when he though no one was looking, Malfoy would give Harry this odd, puzzled look – a look one might give Luna when the girl was talking about a creature they'd never heard of. Harry never could understand what Malfoy wanted, but he was glad for the lack of change.

But the universe decided to ruin the last of Harry's life just to spite him – to prove it could. Hermione wouldn't even acknowledge existence. Ron was also ignoring him more often than not, but when it wasn't possible, he would treat Harry like dirt. And Harry didn't know what to do, because they were his two closest friends. But the deal-breaker was when Ginny broke up with him. "I'm sorry," she'd said, "I'm sorry, but I can't deal with the pressure of being the boy-who-lived's girlfriend."

Obviously, Harry just knew that was an excuse. Ginny had no obligations; if she wanted, she could sit back and be pretty and not do anything. She could have even gotten her family enough money to live a better life, but she gave that up.

And so, Harry distanced himself. He began playing by the Dursley's rules: Don't ask questions, and Don't get in the way. He sat back and watched, fading into the background and learning how he always had – by observing. The whole of the school seemed to have decided to treat Harry like an enemy. Perhaps that was why he began distancing himself in the first place. It wasn't hard; your mind wants to make you forget painful things, so when a betrayal of that magnitude occurs, your mind shuts it down.

Harry decided that was a good thing. He saw things from an outsider's point of view, almost no emotions involved at all. It was rather confusing though, when he realized that Malfoy didn't hate him. And so, Harry focused. Malfoy did seem to genuinely regret the things he did. All evidence pointed towards him being forced to join Voldemort. If that was the case, then Harry felt sorry for the guy. Voldemort had a very persuasive tone – a sort of "Do what I say or face the consequences" type of tone. Harry knew enough piece together what happened.

Another thing that Harry noticed was Luna Lovegood. The girl had a sort of aura. Perhaps that was her way of dressing, but Harry wasn't so sure. She seemed to know things before they happened, and she could tell you almost anything about anybody – as long as you could understand Luna-speak. She often made references to her creatures; Nargles and Wrackspurts among others. Everything seemed to be said by a child, but Luna was really just being Luna. Either way, Harry knew that Luna Lovegood was going to help him every chance she got.

The last thing Harry noticed (but certainly not least) was that Neville had withdrawn as well. The boy would shoot glares at the back of their classmates and give Harry sympathetic looks. And whenever he could, Neville would give Harry this great big hug that felt like what Harry imagined an older sibling would give their younger brother. Neville seemed to act as a lifesaver – keeping Harry from being dragged down in the wake of the boat. Harry would never take anything like that for granted again.

The idea that Neville cared sent a wave of warmth through him. The idea that anyone cared did that – and thinking about it, that would also include Malfoy and Luna. Not many people had ever cared. Nobody noticed the hints that Harry was giving them. Every summer, he'd ask not to go back to the Dursley's, and every summer, he'd get the same answer: it's the safest place for him. Nobody noticed anything about him – he doubted anyone knew anything. Well, anyone except Luna. She seemed to know everything.

But everything was the same – 'oh nonsense! Their son is perfectly fine, so stop lying'. No one wanted to believe a child, Harry thought bitterly.

But time went by. He didn't really notice all that much. McGonagall tried to send Harry to the Dursley's for Christmas, but Harry just glared at her and put his name down as a student staying over. He was legally an adult in the wizarding world, and as such, could do what he wanted. And when he finished the year up, he could go live on his own, without anyone he didn't approve of getting in his way. That sounded nice. Maybe in the years to come, he'd actually find a family.

But, Harry decided, the isolation was good for him. It gave him time to sort through his own problems, and while he wasn't going to be escaping the depression anytime soon, he fixed everything else. Harry would spend his time wandering the school, invisible and looking for empty spaces on his map – Harry had quickly learned, after the third year – that if there was a blank space on the map, it meant that there was something hiding there that Marauders never found. There were secret rooms and tunnels everywhere. He could get from one side of the castle to the other in seconds, instead of minutes – or hours if the castle was in a particularly bad mood.

Yeah – the castle was sentient. It probably came from long time exposure to different personalities and wards to prevent some of the more horrible things from getting through. Harry learned to understand her by watching – like if the stars were moving faster than normal, then she was either angry or excited – and he could get a pretty accurate feel for her thoughts.

It was one of the days when Hogwarts was excited (New Year was coming, after all) that Harry decided to do something that may just be beneficial. It was during lunch. Harry was speaking to Neville, who nodded and tried to communicate without speaking that Harry did it. "I'll be right back," he told his essentially mute friend and walked over to the Slytherin table. The hall went silent – not that it wasn't quiet before, with everyone home for the holidays, but it went completely silent save the thuds of Harry's feet. Harry didn't say anything, but studied Malfoy. The blonde seemed surprised by the turn of events, but not dis-pleased. Good. After enough time for it to become awkward, Harry extended one hand and said, "Truce?"

Nobody else had to know about the paper (yes, paper, not parchment) at he slipped into Draco's hand.

{*•.•*}

He supposed it was a good thing he was orphaned in the war. Draco shuddered to imagine what his father thought of the situation. Honestly, the world was better off without the man. Narcissa was an okay mother, he figured, as far as mothers went, but she always went with whatever Lucius wanted. It was funny, how they were Narcissa and Lucius, not mother and father, but honestly – they pushed him to become a Death Eater, and when he refused, they allowed Him to do what He wanted. As far as Draco was concerned, they lost the title of parents long ago. But the reason of the shuddering – Draco was... curious – what made Potter the so called "Chosen One" – why? And how, for Merlin and Morgana's sakes, did he walk to his own death? Draco admitted that he respected the boy for that. A longer search into what made Potter... Potter, revealed some rather interesting finds. Glances when no one noticed were often sent Potter's direction. Draco didn't notice the barest hint of a smile that often accompanied the looks.

He couldn't figure Potter out. The boy was insanely brave, true, but his plans reeked of Slytherin. Draco watched Harry when school came back. The boy looked pretty normal – a little tired, but that's to be expected. Sometimes, Draco would figure something out, but then that would lead to more questions (for example: Draco long since figured out Potter was abused or neglected in some way, but if that was true, then why didn't Dumbledore remove his 'precious little savior' from the scene?), and Draco would go in circles before dizzying himself to sitting down. And other times, Draco knew Potter to be sneaking around – he'd even followed the boy once.

Draco knew that Potter was distancing himself from his so called friends. It was why Draco didn't have friends – they'll always leave you. He wasn't sure how he knew this instinctive knowledge, but he knew that it was best to save yourself the heartbreak and not have any in the first place. Perhaps making friends with someone who felt the same could prove that wrong, but Crabbe and Goyle were the closest things he had to friends, and maybe Pansy Parkinson – but that was because the boys had been forced together at an early age. And he was expected to marry Parkinson and create and alliance between the families. And honestly, Draco had no intention of getting married. He distantly wondered if Longbottom ever had to deal with that, but decided that no – the last of Harry's friends probably didn't have that hanging over his head, just the banning charm. That though brought some interesting ideas. Especially the growing respect for the boy. He worked so hard to communicate with his friends and he was loyal to a fault – Longbottom could have gone to Hufflepuff and fit right in. Then again, it must have taken a lot of courage to go against Granny Longbottom – (shudder) Draco met her once an event – and the flow of hatred and stand by his friend.

Were the houses really so different than they'd been taught?

That thought brought him up short. Were they really? The answer – no. They're all interconnected. The house-rivalry was stupid- why would you want to just be one thing, when you could be many? Why separate children like that, force them into narrow-minded views of the world? What benefit did it allow? It only fueled hatred and envy. Many centuries ago, the whole thing probably didn't even exist. How long had Dumbledore been headmaster?

Is it possible that Dumbledore created the rivalries in an attempt to separate the good from the bad? It seemed possible. Draco did acknowledge the fact that it could have been another Headmaster, but from Draco's experience, Dumbledore seemed most likely. He could only hope that Potter reached the same conclusion – that the houses should be allies and interconnected.

So that was why when Potter approached him two days before the New Year, he was pleasantly surprised. A hush went round the Great Hall. He and Potter just watched each other for a moment – Potter seemed to be trying to read his thoughts – before Potter finally extended his hand and said "Truce?"

Draco pretended he wasn't slipped a piece of paper saying,

 _Midnight._

 _You know where_.

In Potter's jerky handwriting. Draco burned the paper discretely before reviewing where he could be going. He ultimately decided that Potter wanted to meet him in the room that Draco had followed him to that one night.

Draco couldn't but wonder, however, what is could possibly be that Harry wanted. Sure, he wanted to get to know him better, and maybe apologize for being such a prick, but he also knew that first impressions were important and that Draco had not given Potter a very good one. Draco doubted very much that Potter wanted to speak to him for friendly reasons.

Or maybe that was his pure-blood upbringing talking.

Still, Draco didn't think he would be able to live down the horrible impression and would have to settle for being an ally rather than friend. So Draco was also pleasantly surprised to find not only had Potter wanted to speak to him, but wanted to be his friend.

When Draco showed up for that meeting at 11:53, he was a bit nervous. Perhaps he had a right to be. After all, this meeting may or may not put him in the good graces of Potter.

"Malfoy." Potter's voice whispered. The painting swung open to admit Draco. "Potter." Draco returned the greeting once in. The room wasn't very large – but it was cozy. A small desk off to one side and a small couch on the other. There was a window on the back wall and a fireplace in one of the corners. It seemed like the type of place that you would sit down and talk business in while giving off this aura that allows for comfort. Harry smiled at Draco and set him on the couch – he seemed to be waiting for something. That was when a knock sounded.

{*•.•*}

The ban Gran placed on Neville was pushing it. It wasn't just a ban – it was fortified with magic. Neville couldn't speak one word about his friend, couldn't talk to him. The first time he tried, he went to the hospital wing for the rash that appeared everywhere and hadn't tried again. But he was also one of the only ones who still genuinely cared. Harry was falling into a depression. It was getting worse too. He'd have nightmares, but nobody felt the need to help him. They'd scoff and say that he was looking to gain followers like His. Harry was drowning and they were the lead balls tied to his feet. But Neville quickly found a loophole – he could offer comforting smiles and if he got lucky, the occasional hug. Neville took it upon himself to be the floaty that counteracted the weights. But his Gran had gone too far this time. Neville thought he couldn't ever forgive her for this. Nearly disowning him for possible lack of magic, yes, but choosing who he could interact with? Never.

Neville could deal with quite a lot of crap, but there came a limit. When he realized he couldn't talk to his friend, he nearly broke – not out of sadness, but anger. Neville never had any accidental magic problems as a child, but he quickly figured out what happened when said breaking point was met. Life took a turn for the worse but it was overcome. A loophole in the ban was discovered – one that he utilized to its fullest. While Neville wasn't allowed to verbally communicate with Harry, Neville could do so non-verbally. They both agreed that learning sign language was too time consuming to do while they were at school, but over time they developed their own language anyway. It appeased some of the anger in him that he could communicate with his only friend – outside of Luna – and days quickly went back to normal.

At least, they should have. During the little crisis, Neville failed to notice how Ron and Hermione were distancing themselves from Harry. When Harry came back to the dorm nearly in tears, Neville got the truth – the two were ignoring him and his girlfriend just broke up with him for no good reason. That was the moment when Neville became Harry's only friend – and as a result, Harry became Neville's.

He watched as Harry withdrew, only opening himself up to Neville. He had, after years of being on the sidelines, learned to observe. And what Neville observed was disturbing.

The entirety of Hogwarts hated Harry. The rumors were horrifying – 'He's going to be the next dark lord' – or – 'I heard he's the one who killed Dumbledore'. There were two who didn't hate Harry – excluding Neville himself – and those were, not surprisingly, Luna, and, more surprisingly, Draco Malfoy. Despite his confusion, Neville (privately) thanked Malfoy – he could tell that Harry knew about the lack of animosity and was drawing comfort from that fact.

Neville felt particularly happy the morning Harry and Draco called a truce. The two could be good friends if given the right circumstances. Perhaps Harry would begin opening himself up.

But that night, when Harry woke him up at eleven thirty, Neville was not happy. He did follow Harry's directions to meet him in the secret room at twelve. Luna caught up with him along the way, and the two walked in companionable silence. Neville was surprised to find Malfoy there, but he didn't really feel bad about it. They talked about mundane things, getting to know each other – because if they were being honest, they didn't really know the others at all. Neville spoke to Luna a bit – she shared some very interesting information. And Harry and Malfoy were made aware of Luna's skill. That was about ten minutes in. It had been nearly another hour when Draco proposed an alliance-friendship sort of thing, though, thing went weird. And Neville wasn't sure what to do with the new development. He does know, however, that it likely was going to be helpful in the long run. So now he just had to figure out what to do in the meantime.

{*•.•*}

It was such a shame, really, that things worked out the way it did. Luna, of course, knew all of it would happen. She wasn't a seer, per say, but rather had inherited an interesting trait. She could see past and personality and draw scarily accurate predictions of the future. She could also see magics – aura, most often, but the magical creatures no one else would ever be able to see also made themselves known. She knew that nobody believed her when she spoke of the creatures, but they were there – influencing every little thing. Luna knew what would happen to herself and the other three who had the neutral aura. It wasn't dark nor light nor was it a fixed shade. While everyone else's aura was a bright color – blue or green or red – the four (Luna included) had a color that was a mixture of black and white. While everyone else's aura was a single shade their whole lives, theirs shifted depending on mood and health. The sight was part of what made Luna so good at predictions.

It was a little disorienting when she saw a major event or death, but Luna learned to control her ability. Luna could see what was happening, and somehow, watching it unfold before her in the present, hurt more than knowing it would happen. As Ron and Hermione withdrew and Neville bonded with Harry – honestly, they could have been like brothers, especially considering Harry's lineage – Luna prepared. For what – even she didn't know. There would be a major event affecting the three plus one more, but she couldn't predict it.

By Halloween, Harry was alone except for Neville – and Luna herself, but she and Harry weren't that close. By Christmas, Harry looked resigned and a bit contemplative. It was just after Christmas when it happened. The event that was the beginning – Harry called a truce with Draco. Yes, she called him Draco, not Malfoy. Honestly. Besides, she and Draco were going to be good friends in the future – that much she could discern. Not like lovers... Perhaps a sibling relationship would work, if it had to be described, but even that was off.

So later that day, when Luna passed Harry in the halls, she wasn't surprised to see him smile and nod at her. Of course, the others were – Harry rarely smiled anymore, and only showed respect when it was beneficial to him. From what Luna could tell, Harry was planning a meeting with his only friends. She didn't know where this meeting would be, but she knew that she could catch up to Neville and accompany him there.

And that meeting went well. Luna figured that Lady Destiny had something to do with her lack of ability to predict, but she was wildly off. The meeting started well enough. The boys were making an effort to get to know her and each other. That was good, Luna decided. Whatever happened, being familiar with each other was bound to work out in their favor. Nobody did anything stupid.

"Well, Malfoy, it seems I misjudged you." Harry had said first. Draco followed with a "It seems you have, however, I misjudged you too." And from there, everything progressed smoothly.

"Luna," Neville spoke suddenly about ten minutes later, "Do you know anything?" Neville had been one of the only people who actually spoke to Luna, and he knew of her skills. Harry and Draco straitened up, sharing a slightly confused look – Harry more like he knew but wanted the specifics, and Draco wanted to know exactly what Neville meant.

"Oh you know," She said, "The usual. Although, all of the creatures have left us. And something big is going to happen tonight, but I can't tell what it is."

Neville looked alarmed until Luna said "But don't worry. I don't think it will be a bad thing. Just a big thing."

Neville felt comforted by those words – Luna figured it was because she hadn't yet been wrong. "What does that mean though?" Draco asked.

Neville glanced at Luna, who nodded. After all, they would need each other after the event. "Luna can predict the future. Not as accurately as a seer, but it's pretty good. She can see your past. Your personality and stuff like that. Only things outside of human control can surprise her. Natural disasters and the like."

"Oh yes. That much is true. Did you know, Harry Potter, that you share a past with Tom Marvelo Riddle? It's sad actually, how similar you are and how easily it could have been for you to go down the wrong path. But I suppose a bit of your life was influence by the house you were sorted into."

Harry just nodded – some of it was new information, Luna knew, but he wasn't that surprised by it. After that, conversation went back to how it had been. Simple things, like birthdays and favorites were asked about, and sometimes someone would rant about something – like how separating the children into houses encourages bullying and discrimination, or how eleven is way too young to judge people into categories that would affect them for the rest of their lives. There were some theories as to why things were the way they were. It was generally agreed upon that a thousand years ago, life was shorter and tradition has kept things going. But besides that, there was other, more personal information. Things nobody wanted anyone to know, but that they needed to get the weight of off their shoulders.

It had been a little over an hour since they had got there when The Event happened. Draco was speaking, "Well, we can't really be friends outside of here, at least not a first. So I was thinking we could put on a show. Outside of here, we're allies. By next month, we could be friends, and I'd like that, but it'd be kind of hard to explain away a sudden friendship."

Harry looked like he had the most brilliant idea ever, but they never got to find out what it was. A white light appeared between the four of them, and it was growing. Luna's earlier words must have been present in everyone's minds, because none of them looked scared. Then she was falling, down and down. She could hear the others, but they were growing faint. Then she hit something hard.

•

Luna's head hurt. Everything was dizzy and bright. Then there was a voice, one that she hadn't heard in a year. "Wake up baby girl!"

She faintly remembered the day – her tenth birthday. Usually, her father was at work when she woke up, and he'd be back by ten in the morning to play. They hadn't had one of those days in years. Was this a dream? But no, Luna had never had a dream. So a memory then? Perhaps, but Luna didn't think so. She usually didn't get so involved in them that she felt like she was there. However, whatever was happening, she decided it was best to stay as close as possible to what really happened. And so, she squealed like a ten-year-old. "Daddy!"

"Baby!" He squealed right back.

The day commenced like any normal day, but when her father disappeared for ten minutes and returned with a book on time travel, Luna figured The Event out pretty quickly. "How did you know?" Luna asked, turning the book over in her hand.

"Your gift, Luna, is hereditary. I have it too."

"Oh." She breathed. "I knew that. I guess I just didn't think about it very much. So when you woke me up this morning, you noticed I had seven years added on and you figured it out. That's good. At least, this way I'll be able to prepare for my friends."

Her father looked surprised by that. "How do you know when they'll get here?" He asked. Luna shrugged. "They'll come on their birthday, like I did. Which means I have four months to prepare."

Four months. It was the thirteenth of February – her birthday and the day before Valentine's Day – and Draco's was closest, on the fifth of June. Then she would have nearly two months to prepare him for Neville's arrival and Harry's the very next day.

"Luna dear," her father started, "You know I'd follow you to the ends of the Earth, right? You'll be fine. Don't worry."

Luna sighed. "I know Daddy. Lady Destiny knows what she's doing. I just hope things work out the way she wants them to this time around."

 _ **Tell me what you think! Comment on pairings or ideas you have, I love to hear my viewers opinions.**_


	3. Part 3: Chapter 2

When Draco woke up, it was to a house-elf informing him it was his birthday. Is that Dobby? He idly wondered through the pounding of a headache. He definitely hit his head on something. And how was it his birthday? It was the twenty-eighth of December last time he checked. Six months till his birthday. And then there's the fact that he was a Malfoy Manor – an easy assumption once his eyes were open. The house-elf – that was definitely Dobby – helped him get ready for his day. It was weird. Draco didn't really know what to do. He considered the idea that he was dreaming, but cast it off – normally, a dream would be much more… wacky was the only word he could think of.

Two hours after waking up, he could feel the gentle probe of a legilimens. He normally would have cast the invader out, but it wasn't quite like what Dumbledore would use on him. Dumbledore had a more forceful entry that Draco just barely managed to block before the coot died. This was more like a mental nudge than invader. Ten minutes later, and Draco still wasn't sure how Luna got him to where he was. It was a room, not unlike the Slytherin dorms, but with different colors. There were several colors, although purple (light lavender or periwinkle) seemed to hold the title for theme color. Some other colors made an appearance, near the beds, like the bit of green over by the bed in the corner. Gentle embroidery showed off colors and designs on anything fabric.

And then Luna explained what happened. He had under two months to come to terms with this new life before he had to explain it to Neville and Harry – and yes, there were Neville and Harry, not Longbottom and Potter, not anymore.

Now how was he supposed to deal? He knew that Narcissa – oh Merlin, did he have to start calling her "mother" again? – would be hosting a fancy get-together disguised as a birthday celebration.

Yeah, that birthday celebration was boring. He was expected to play nice with Goyle, Crabbe and Parkinson. The first two, he could deal with. They didn't do anything on their own and were just sort of there. Parkinson however – that was a problem. You know that muggle phrase – "hindsight is 20/20" or whatever? Well, the numbers he didn't get, but the phrase basically meant that looking back, things are so much more obvious than they were at the time. Yeah, well, it was so much more obvious that Pansy was flirting with him. No – just – no. Draco knew that he was expected to marry some girl from a high standing pure-blood family, but he just didn't know if he could do that. Especially considering that many of those girls were trained to flirt and get themselves married off to produce dozens of little heirs for their husbands. So just – no. Like it or not, that just wasn't Draco. He was good for more than having kids to carry on the family name.

And they were eleven!

Luckily, the party was over when Draco began subtly hinting that he was too tired to continue on.

And for the next months – only two bloody months! – Draco secretly trained with Luna on the whole conjoined mindscape thing. He didn't really understand it very well. What he did get, though, were the lessons on core magic. Luna figured out how to access hers and was using the power that came with control over the core to do wandless magic – genuine dueling level stuff. And after Draco first touched his core, he could tell why Luna had been so excited. It was amazing. Euphoric. He could perform better than with his wand (but he'd still be getting it if only for sentimental purposes and to stay unseen). And because of their lessons, the months passed quickly. Draco found himself looking forward to seeing his 'sister' for their daily practices – Draco quickly caught up to Luna. They would often have duels in the jointed mindscape, which was really just a portal to their minds and a common meeting place. If they wanted, they would walk through one of the doors and right into another mind. At the moment, it was just Draco and Luna, but later Draco could waltz into either of the other twos on a whim. It would definitely help with explaining, especially if they just pushed the memories (a trick similar to looking into a pensieve) into the boy's minds instead of actually explaining like how Luna had to do with Draco. And in no time at all, it was the twenty-ninth of July. When Draco woke up, he'd have to speak to Neville with Luna. And then the next day, they'd have to tell Harry. Wonderful.

And when Draco woke up the next morning, he could tell that Neville was there. Luna pulled him into the mindscape while Draco prepared to explain some pretty unexplainable things. He knew that he'd have to share the memories if push came to shove (another muggle phrase he was fond of – that and "treat a man like a man, and a man you shall get; treat a man like a monster, then Lord help us fight this monster." He wasn't sure where it came from, but it rang with truth). He just hoped it didn't.

And his hopes weren't crushed! Neville took in the information quietly while looking around the room. Draco had claimed the bed with the green, and Luna had the blue one. Neville immediately got the one with yellow sheets, leaving the wall with the red bed for Harry. The space was quite large though. There was a fireplace in Draco's corner – the one he shared with Harry, not Neville. A lavish couch faced it along with some chairs as if to do homework. Draco idly wondered if they could bring in their homework and do it with each other.

And then there was the concern over why it was them that were chosen. It would seem, at first, that they were meant to unite the houses – but wait, Neville and Harry were both Gryffindor's! No that wasn't it. He supposed it could be because of their families – each of them were influential in different ways. But that wouldn't mean much if they didn't play their parts, so there must have been some sort of internal traits that were taken into consideration. But they would worry about that later. Draco knew that he'd have to go through everything again the next day, although he decided to wait until later in the day – he remembered meeting Harry at Madam Malkin's the first time around. Being there physically should make the explanation easier.

And he was right. When his parents woke him up the next day, he was a bundle of nerves. He would essentially be meeting someone he had wronged many times in the past and only made up with a few hours ago (from Harry's perspective). They went to several different shops that Draco wasn't really paying attention to. He knew that he already knew all the curriculum, so he didn't bother paying attention. But when they finally got to Madam Malkin's around 11:30, Draco perked up. His father wandered off, telling Draco, but he wasn't listening, and his mother, after making sure Draco would be fine, headed over to Ollivander's. When Harry did eventually wander in, Draco smiled at him. Pleasant small talk ensued – Draco could tell that Harry was confused. When they shook hands, Draco looked directly into Harry's eyes and transferred the memories over.

And remember when Draco noticed that Harry had some Slytherin tendencies? Yeah, no Gryffindor would have been able to hide the rush of emotion, yet Harry did it better than Blaise could have. Speaking of, could Blaise become an ally? Draco remembered that he was pushed by his mother and (two… four… five…) fifth stepfather to join Voldemort. Draco knew that Blaise didn't want to, but after witnessing what happened to others (Draco himself), he did. But Draco shook off those thoughts – he'd think it over more later that night.

What mattered right then was that Harry was smiling a bit – good, so he hadn't been overwhelmed. Or maybe he was and was smiling to deal with it. Whatever. It was… odd to see such an expression aimed his way. Draco wasn't really sure what to do. Either way, he said "We will contact you tonight." Before being dragged over to Ollivander's for his wand.

He was surprised, at first, when he got a different wand, then thought again. There were several matches, but none were perfect until "Hornbeam, Dragon Heartstring, 13", bendy" was presented to him. He vacantly wondered if the other's wands were different too. Thinking about it, he certain that the war had changed them – if the wand chose the wizard, then his old Hawthorne wand certainly wouldn't work anymore. He wasn't the same person anymore. He vacantly wondered how wands were made and chosen. He knew that Dragon Heartstring was powerful and very okay when it came to the Dark Arts, but Hornbeam was new. He never looked up that specific wood – never had to. But never mind that. It wasn't important. At least, not at that moment. What Draco needed to do was get home so he could talk to his friends.


	4. Part 4: Chapter 3

When Harry woke up, it was to an owl pecking at the window. "Wha…?" The sound escaped his lips before his brain caught up. Speaking of, that brain hurt. A lot. What he hit?

A grumble brought Harry to reality. The large form on the other side of the room rolled over. "Give 'im some knuts." Hagrid said. Hagrid? Nevertheless, Harry did so. Looking around, he found that he was in the same place he was on his eleventh birthday. So it was either a dream – not likely, Harry had good at telling dreams from reality – or he'd gone to the past – equally as likely. And yet, Harry somehow knew what the answer was.

Which is why he wasn't surprised to be going to Diagon Alley. When he got his money from Gringotts, Harry remembered to ask for his key from Hagrid. Immediately afterward, Hagrid sent him along to Madam Malkin's – where he met Draco the first time. Harry mentally prepared himself for eleven-year-old snobbish Malfoy. He did consider the idea that Draco had also come along, but he didn't want to disappoint himself. However, when Draco began speaking without being snobbish but not confirming anything, Harry didn't know what to think. But then Draco offered his hand. Humoring him, Harry accepted, and a rush of knowledge filled his already hurting brain. But he quickly put on a mask, covering his true feelings – which were mainly dizziness and confusion. Harry was just glad for the time alone to think things over after Draco said that he'd be contacted.

The rest of the trip to Diagon alley passed much the same way it did the first time and Harry was left thinking maybe he was going insane. But finally, at Ollivander's, something happened to prove him wrong. Sorting out which wand was his took longer than it did the first time. Harry wondered why his old phoenix tail feather wand wasn't working, but eventually figured that it was because he had changed and no longer matched the wand. But then he was handed "Blackthorn, Phoenix Feather, 13", swishy" and it felt right again. Better, even, than the phoenix feather wand. He quietly wondered if the reason that one chose him last time was because of the horcrux – which he just realized was still there. Wonderful. But an hour later, Harry was back in his small bedroom at the Dursley's and he was thinking. Thinking about little things – Harry didn't feel like pondering how he got there – too big of a headache on top of his migraine. And it was right that moment when he was sucked out of his body. He recognized the place, luckily, from the memories Draco gave him. And he was right – there were Neville Luna and Draco – all sitting in a light purple room with colourful embellishments.

"Long version, or short?" Neville asked immediately. Harry raised an eyebrow – if Neville had arrived on his birthday like Harry did, he probably only had twenty-four hours to prepare. Nevertheless, Harry said "We've got time. Long."

And Draco jumped into the explanation. "Well, that light took us back to our birthdays in 1991. For the three of us, that's eleven, but Luna's only ten. We don't exactly know why we're here, but we're going to do what we need to – if we can figure out what exactly that is. I think –"

Harry cut Draco off. "I know why we're here, Draco." He said with a smirk. Draco leaned back. "Oh – and that is?"

"I," Harry began, "Am ninety-nine percent sure that we're here to stop the Dark Lord. But for now, we need to unite the houses."

Draco shook his head. "Already thought of that. We have two Gryffindors and zero Hufflepuffs. How're we supposed to do that?"

The question stumped Harry, but only a moment later, Neville let out a nervous titter and the three zeroed in on him. "Neville?" Luna asked.

"Umm… well…" Neville began, "I'm supposed to be a Hufflepuff. I asked the Hat to put me in Gryffindor. It's thoughts kind of went in circles, but it was adamant on Hufflepuff. But it was thinking that I was brave enough to go against my very person and that was good enough for Gryffindor, but then I was loyal to the point to go against my very self, but that was very brave, and it was very loyal, and you see what I mean? I eventually chose Gryffindor because I wanted Gran to be proud of me." He rushed out in a single breath. Harry nodded, looking at Draco, who scowled. Luna began laughing, for some reason, and wouldn't calm down enough for anyone to ask her why. After two more minutes, though, she said, "Anything else? Neville – you look excited. After tomorrow, I'm going to teach you guys to identify creatures. Okay. Now Neville."

Neville looked more nervous than he did before the Hufflepuff admission. "So I overheard Gran talking about someone – it sounded like her sister, which I thought was weird because she was supposedly an only child. But the name – it sounded familiar. I'm going to do some research but I may have some relatives that I didn't know about." Neville began jumping towards the last bit. He didn't like his family very much so it was an exciting prospect.

Unfortunately, Harry had a moment of clarity that he feared would bring Neville down. "Umm… Neville, I don't want to be a buzzkill –"

"A what?"

"– Later. So, I don't want to be a buzzkill, but I think, that maybe, well, you know how Draco's family is influential with the Dark, and Neville's with the Light? And how the Lovegood's have got the Quibbler and I'm, just, well, me? I think we're all here because we have power. In the public and in politics. And if we unite the houses, well, that's just more power over the masses. We could theoretically, prepare everyone for war. And that actually very smart, if a little immoral in theory. You say Lady Destiny sent us here? Well, she certainly knows what she's doing.

"Which, if I'm right, would mean you should stay with your Gran until you're old enough to hold the power yourself."

Neville swallowed, looking unhappy. "Ah. Can't say that I'm happy about this, but you're right. And Harry, you should know that there's a bit more to the name Potter than you think. My grandmother wasn't sure if she liked them or not because they were a powerful neutral family – you come from a powerful pureblood family whose hold on the ministry was a tight one until that Halloween." Neville said, seeming to be thinking out loud. "And Luna's family is quite powerful too. They don't say much in favor of anything, so when they do, the advice is listened to. Hmm…"

Harry left Neville to think. Maybe he'd figure out how to make the most of the situation – who knew – maybe he'd find his mysterious great-aunt and convince her to move in and make – shiver – Granny Longbottom, well, tolerable.

Harry went back to talking with Luna and Draco while Neville brooded.

"So what are we thinking?" He asked. A vague plan was forming in his mind about several things that could all tie in to each other. "You're brooding." Draco stated. Harry rolled his eyes. "No. Neville's brooding."

That elicited a laugh, according to Luna and Draco. Maybe it was the tension finally breaking, but Harry smiled along with them anyways. "Wow. It's nice to be able to talk to you without breaking out the wands." Draco's smile softened. "Yeah. It is."

That was the moment Neville jumped in. "That… was adorable." He stated, bringing Harry and Draco into a one armed hug each. Luna laughed again. "Cuddle Puddle!" She shouted between giggled, jumping on the boys. Draco looked at her weirdly, but she said, "What? Don't judge. Daddy does it all the time!" and the conviction in her voice was enough to deter anything unpleasant. Either way, all four of them ended up in a pile on Luna's plush (shaggy) lime green rug.

Harry just smiled, finally feeling like he had a family – now only if he could get Sirius out of Azkaban; Remus would follow.


	5. Part 5: Chapter 4

Neville extraordinarily confused. First, he woke up with a pounding headache reminiscent of a concussion hex. Then his grandmother came in, telling his that they were going to Diagon Alley for his eleventh birthday. He was eighteen, not eleven. Right? Only, no. He was eleven. And then, while he was trying to figure out his situation, he was pulled into his mind. He didn't even know that was possible! Luna – how was she there? – shook his hand and suddenly he was given this big transfer of memories. Then they pushed him out again to go to the Alley. He contemplated this new information, while at Madam Malkin's. And after that, Gran took him to one of the pet stores – he wasn't paying attention to which. The tab that his Great-Uncle Algie was enough for a toad – so he bought Trevor back. And then he realized that Harry would be arriving the next day.

So he prepared as best he could. It wasn't easy. He was put out when they didn't get a wand, but remembered that he'd be using his fathers. He figured he could guilt-trip Gran into getting him his own for Christmas or maybe his birthday next year. July thirty-first came too quickly. Luckily, Draco remembered that he and Harry had met at Diagon alley and decided to transfer the memories in person. It gave Neville a few good hours to do some last minute thinking.

And when Harry finally did arrive, thanks to Luna, there was a long discussion about why they were there. It started with "We need to unite Hogwarts for the war." But eventually, they acknowledged that they had power over the masses, with their families being who they were. And Harry being Harry. He was just awesome like that. Neville knew he liked Harry; he got to act this big brother character and Harry appreciated that – even though they might as well have been twins. As soon as he heard laughing, though, he broke out of his thoughts. When they calmed down, he heard Harry say "Wow. It's nice to be able to talk without having to break out the wands," to Draco with a smile. Draco returned the grin and said "Yeah, it is."

That was when Neville interfered. He jumped between them and said "That was adorable," while bringing them in for a hug. Luna jumped on them shouting "Cuddle Puddle!" and defending herself when Draco gave her a weird look. The green shaggy carpet felt weird on his back, but they actually managed to have a good time – something Neville wasn't expecting thanks to their predicament. He knew that Harry was planning something and that Draco was too. But for that moment, they just sat there in their cuddle puddle all night, talking the way only a close knit group of friends could. It made Neville's heart swell – they were so close they could sit and talk for hours, and Luna's weirdness combatted Draco's cool logic while they bantered.

By the time they went to bed, it was nearly time to wake up. Luckily, in their minds, it didn't matter as much as it did in the world – it still had the nasty under-slept headache, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. So for the last month, they plotted and bonded a bit more.

"I know how to get Sirius back!" Harry announced one day in early August.

"Oh?" Draco said, "How is that?"

Harry ginned. "It's rather easy actually. Ron's rat is Peter Pettigrew, the guy who betrayed my parents, right? So, I'll act freaked out by it. A little after Halloween, I'll suddenly "remember" that it was Pettigrew that was the Secret Keeper, and announce it in the Great Hall. They'll have to listen, because if I'm right, it could be a danger to all the students. And if they ask how I remember all of that, I'll say the traumatic experience forced me to remember most of my first year of life. They'll try Peter, and when he comes off clean, they'll try Sirius. He'll be back by Christmas – and Remus will come too, to apologize to Sirius."

Neville had to admit, it was a good plan. But, "What if they don't believe you when you say Pettigrew betrayed your parents? I mean, remembering a person is weird enough, barely believable. But remembering specific events? They may not believe you and just set him free."

Harry's face drooped for a moment, but he brightened up quickly. "If they don't believe me, they should believe both of us. You could say you remember him there that night with the LeStranges – sorry." Harry broke off as he realized what that he just reminded Neville of his parents, his smile dropping again. "It's a good plan, I guess, but it's a bit unfair to you."

Neville just grinned at Harry. "That is a great plan. It's okay. I'll do it if I have to."

Harry grinned shyly. "Thanks Neville."

Neville felt like giving Harry another hug – he had come to terms with the fact that he'd never get to meet his parents, and Harry's plan was honestly a really good one. "You're welcome."

*.*

Harry, two days later, told them another one of his plans – how to get Snape on their side. When Draco asked how, Harry said, "Snape grew up with my mother. They were good friends. That, combined with the fact that the Dursley's love to abuse me, should get Snape to pity me and later, actually like me.

Draco gasped at the 'abuse' part. "Abuse?" He asked. Harry nodded, looking at his shoes and rubbing his arm, the epitome of insecure. "Yeah," His voice was think with emotion, "I think it was the horcrux. Ron turned into a real git when he had a horcrux. I was hoping one of you knew occulmency. I think if I learned it, I could lock the piece of soul away where it can't affect the others."

Nobody knew how, but Luna presented Harry with some books, and Neville promised to bring some from his library Draco nodding along with him.

The next day, when they all met up, Harry was presented with eighteen books. He smiled at the three of them before sitting down on his bed. The first was the one Luna gave him – he was half-way through it. It was a few moments later that Harry sat up appeared to begin meditating. He returned to himself in the middle of a debate between Draco and Luna about the benefits of muggle technology. Neville just rolled his eyes in Harry's direction.

But hey, Harry could actually do something besides plotting now. Within a week, they each had their own personal fortresses, each completed with a library – a place they stuffed information that was okay to be shared between the three of them. It was a rather eventful day when Luna convinced them to leave the doors open – telepathy is officially awesome.

*.*

Harry informed them the next day that Petunia was getting better, with Dudley following at a slower pace. Neville wasn't really sure what to think, but then Luna distracted them with lessons. They were beginning to notice that they were specializing in a certain field, but Neville didn't quite know where one began and another ended. By the time the lessons were over, everyone had forgotten about Harry's home situation and Neville had finally reached his magic core.

That's when Harry decided that Hogwarts would be fun.

Well, more accurately, he decided that there would be pranking. Neville could only assume it was because they already knew what was going to happen over the next few years and could afford to be lax. That, and the fact that it would be getting stressful for the other students later on and they would need a good laugh. It was a good idea – made confusing by Luna who said _"Creating Havoc Around Our System equals CHAOS. The CHAOS HQ is MHFTP. MHFTP stands Merlin's House For Talented Pranksters/Protagonists. It is located in TheCOSmos. TheCOSmos equal The Chamber Of Secrets. "Wolf in sheep's clothing" and "Snake in the Lions' den" are keys. Can be reversed (based on house) by saying "Lion cub in snake nest" or "Lamb in wolf hide"._

Yeah, that took a while to figure out. But Neville had to admit, creating the idea of CHAOS was great – the wizards wouldn't know what hit them. Well, the muggle-raised ones might recognize the acronym, but that was the point, wasn't it?

*.*

Thinking about it, Neville realized that it was the fourteenth of August. Just two weeks until school began. Harry was looking better and better, evidence of Petunia getting better. But it wasn't until then that he realized how fast time was passing. The date important because he found out it was the mysterious sister's birthday. And he had done some research. And that research paid off.

Harry came into their room last, bouncing like a kid on a sugar high. "She gave me a hug! I can't believe it!" He sang, bounding over to Luna and giving her a big hug. "Thanks for the book, Luna, I mean, they were all good, but yours went in-depth in a way the others didn't and now my family doesn't hate me!"

Neville grinned, clapping Harry on the shoulder; Draco smiled from across the room. "That's great, Harry."

Neville cleared his throat. "I," he began, "Am about to make your day better. I hope."

Harry give him a questioning look. Neville gave a small grin. "Remember me telling you about my gran mentioning her sister?" He asked. All three gave an affirmative nod. "Well, I did some research. She was a squib and was disowned as soon as she was old enough to take care of herself. She went to muggle school and stuff. Her name was Aster. And she had two daughters." Neville shook his head to stop himself from continuing. He wanted to create suspense.

Eventually, Draco huffed, and said, "Well, Longbottom? Going to tell us why this is so exciting?"

Neville bounced a bit. "Yeah. Aster had two daughters – with her husband, Mark Evans."

Harry choked. "I'm going to need to talk to Aunt Petunia about that."


	6. Part 6: Chapter 5

When Neville dropped his metaphorical bomb, Harry nearly passed out. Luckily, he managed to get off with choking. But really. Harry quickly developed a plan – and he needed Granny Longbottom's maiden name.

And later, he had a conversation with Aunt Petunia. He started off blunt. "Yesterday was your mother's birthday." The words were spoken quietly, but Aunt Petunia heard them loud and clear. "How do you know that?" She demanded, her words full of false venom.

"You sent her a birthday card. Why don't we visit her? I want to meet my grandparents. Maybe Dudley would too. Can we?"

Petunia deflated. The eyes… those eyes were so reminiscent of the sister who abandoned her first chance she got. But they were so expressive that Petunia found she couldn't say no. She didn't notice that her relationship with her nephew had changed. It was still early in the morning. They could make the trip to London that day. And it would be a nice surprise.

"Alright. Go get Dudley's stuff prepared."

They left at nine in the morning. Petunia drove them into London, where they checked into a hotel, before driving off to the Evans house. Aster Evans looked so surprised that Harry wished he had a camera.

It started off okay. They ate a late lunch, and Petunia explained the circumstances of their arrival. Harry helped prepare a dinner and cake. They were half-way through the steak when Harry began the conversation.

"Can… I ask you a few questions?" He asked, acting like a shy little boy.

Aster nodded slowly, Mark following her lead. Harry bounced a little in his seat. "Do you have any other family?" He asked. Aster straightened up. "My parents kicked me out when I turned seventeen. My little sister was always fond of me, though I imagine by now, that she's been brainwashed to hate me – if she's still alive."

Aster looked down. Harry calmed down a little. "Oh. Sorry. What was her name?" Aster gave Harry a small calculating look – and Petunia was staring at Harry in shock.

"Augusta Fowley."

That was all Harry needed. The memories of the conversation were sent to the others, and Harry steered the talk away from Aster. "What about you?" He asked Mark. Marks eyes got a far-away look to them. "My mother and her older sister were muggle-born witches, and so was my father. They didn't know if they should be happy that I wouldn't have to grow up that world, or upset that I didn't have magic. And then the war started when you guys," he looked at Petunia, "were young."

Petunia choked. "No wonder you were so excited about Lily." She murmured. _Oh if you think this is startling, wait till you see what I have planned._ Harry thought.

Mark nodded at her. "Yes. My mother's sister was killed in her fourth year; I think it was. I've heard she still haunt's that bathroom. They never caught the killer, although the blame was pinned on a kid with a spider fascination."

Hmmm…. Harry wasn't quite sure what to think about that. It definitely made any interactions between him and Myrtle more awkward than before.

Ignoring that.

"So…" Harry mused. Petunia looked to be getting over her shock – Dudley was just sitting there, ignoring the world. The conversation began flowing around him as he tried to think about how to phrase his next words. He knew he wanted to tell Petunia his secret, and he figured his grandparents were trustworthy enough. But how to convince Dudley? Maybe he could get them alone. Hmmm….

But eventually he just decided he could obliviate Dudley if the little- let the information get out.

Harry's almost evil smirk startled everyone out of the conversation. Harry smirked even more when he saw their faces.

"Relax. I'm not going to kill you." He jokingly assured them. "Just turn your lives on your heads."

Petunia looked alarmed – _probably because I have magic and anything is possible with me,_ Harry thought, but Aster leaned forward. "What is it dear?"

Harry took a deep breath. "What do you know about time magic?"

They looked confused. "Not much is known about how time works, but there are little hourglasses called time-turners that send you back a few hours. Why?"

Another deep breath. "I'm not eleven years old. I'm eighteen."

There was a silence. "Are you saying you're a time traveler?" Dudley asked, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Yes, and if you tell anyone, I will obliviate you."

"Harry," Mark began, "There's a reason time travel is illegal. You could change everything."

Harry let out a breath. "I know that. We weren't given a choice in whether we came back or not. All we can figure is that Destiny wasn't happy with the way things turned out and worked with magic to send us to the starting point."

Aster went pale. "We? There are more of you?"

Harry nodded, running a hand through his hair and letting out a breath – again. He seemed to be doing that a lot. "Four of us. We looked at what makes us different, and we figured it out – we all belong to one Hogwarts house, we each have major public and political power, and we all played major roles in the war. As for our old lives, we don't really miss them. I was shunned. "Next Dark Lord in training, I tell ya!" and the like. Neville – he's kind of got this protective aura to him – Neville was banned from speaking to me and everything sort of went downhill for him after that. Draco, his parents were Death-Eaters, and he was tortured into taking the Dark Mark. Well, didn't work out for that side of the war, and despite the verisatum, everyone hated him. And Luna had been bullied at Hogwarts thanks to her unique outlook on life and uncanny abilities – we think her family was blessed a few centuries back. All of us had led sucky lives that were getting a sucky ending and well, I guess, this is our second chance."

Harry had been looking at his hands while speaking.

"War?" Petunia breathed, her face pale as a sheet. Harry cursed. "Sorry. I shou- ha-a- Aunt Petunia?"

She was apparently trying to kill him. _Squeezed to death_ , it would say on his obituary.

"My baby is not going to fight a war!"

Oh. She was hugging him. It felt… nice. It was odd; the only other female who'd ever hugged him was Hermione, and she stopped counting when she betrayed him. And Ginny, but it was the same deal for her. This kind of felt like when Neville woke him up from a nightmare and just hugged him until he calmed down.

Harry hesitantly wrapped his arms around his aunt, unsure of how she would react, but Petunia only held him tighter. And suddenly, Harry felt like crying. Why would Dumbledore deprive him of _this_? This motherly affection that he'd been craving his whole life? It felt good. Petunia was warm, and strong. And he could bet that she gave the best hugs in the neighborhood. Harry buried his face in her chest, like a little kid. Technically, he still was a little kid. Maybe his younger body had younger emotions. Either way, Harry bit back tears and drew in one long shuddering breath and pulled back, nearly immediately regretting it.

"Is there anything else?" Petunia asked.

"I think someone messed with your mind or emotions or something. I know I did, thanks to this scar, but it shouldn't have affected you so much. But it hasn't affected Vernon at all. That scares me."

She looked confused. "What? What do you –" She must have figured it out with the way she stuttered off.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry Harry. I don't know why I would- and why would you have a –" Harry stopped her there. "Stop. Your mind has been messed with. It was something I've been pondering. Draco once said that the Dumbledore I know is not the one he knows and that he wouldn't put it past him to force me into an abusive to be able to mold me into a weapon. I think Draco was right. Somebody must have altered your memories. That, combined with this horcrux in my head made you hate me. There may still be other thigs that we haven't found."

Petunia choked while Aster went pale. "There's a horcrux in your head?" She asked. Petunia shot her a questioning look, and Harry took the chance. "I'll just let you explain a what a horcrux is." And then he slipped away.

As Harry sat on the couch, he thought about what had just transpired. When he remembered the hug, a warm feeling blossomed in his stomach. He couldn't believe it, his aunt actually liked him. Harry smiled the largest smile he'd given in several years.

*.*

"Harry?" Aster called from the kitchen.

Harry entered the kitchen to find his aunt staring at him like he was from outer space. "You have a piece of a murderer's soul in you?" She asked.

Harry shook his head. "Murderer implies he only killed a few people just for the fun of it. He was a warlord. People die in wars – you don't go out and kill the guy who killed them in the muggle world; why is the wizarding world any different?"

Petunia sagged. "O-okay. Is there anything you can tell us?" Harry nodded. "You won't be able to interfere much until fourth year, and by then, I plan to have everything be different.

"So first thing, Aunt Petunia, your memories have been altered. I'm not good at mind-magicks yet – I just need training, so by next summer I should be able to retrieve them. But if you want, I can look at them and tell you what happens. Do you want me to?"

Petunia nodded. Harry delved into her mind to find the memories. Her thoughts were all over the place. But far from every other thought, there was a shield that reeked of magic. Harry bypassed it as quickly as possible. The first memory he looked at, however, was from a baby's perspective. Interesting. Harry quickly sorted the memories into two piles; blocked memories, and subconscious memories. He went through the blocked ones first. One was of Lily talking to her family. "Please. We're at war and the enemy make it a point to kill any muggles and muggleborns – if you get lucky. He tortures people and I don't want that to happen to you. You have to let me go. I'll contact you after the war is won but I don't want you caught up in this. You have a family Petunia. Please."

After that, Harry saw Petunia's childhood – more specifically, how when Lily befriended Snape, he became a part of the family. Petunia never hated him, it seemed. He was her brother. But that didn't match up with Snape's memories. Just how many people did Dumbledore alter to fit his needs?

The next memory was almost worse. Petunia had just found baby Harry. The feelings of love and sorrow emanated from her even in the memory. But then she looked at the note, and the feelings changed to hate and anger. It shocked Harry so much he was thrown from Petunia's mind.

The aftershock of being thrown out nearly caused him to pass out. As it was, Harry threw up, hacking and coughing. "Harry?" Petunia asked. "What happened?"

Harry looked right into her eyes. "It was horrible. I only saw a few things before getting practically blasted out, but it was horrible. The first was of mom telling you she was at war and you were in danger because you're related, and she cut off contact, saying she'd talk to you after the war. The second was of the boy you guys took in – your brother, Aunt Petunia. And you just remember hating him! And the last was of when you found me. I think there were charms on the note because your emotions went from 'caring mother' to 'bitter old lady' in seconds.

"And that's when I came back. I'm going to need to see that letter."

Petunia's face had gone through a myriad of emotions before becoming white. "What?" She choked out.

For some reason, Petunia had the letter in her night bag. The second Harry touched it, he felt the worst thing in the world. He hated, he wanted to harm and most of all, he needed to read and re-read the letter all the time. And all those emotions were aimed at… himself.

"What is it?" Mark asked.

Harry inhaled. "Compulsion charms, hatred, anger. It's designed to make her hate me as well as read the letter over and over again to make sure the charms stay."

As he spoke, he burned the paper. "I am going to kill Dumbledore."

Mark tried to calm Harry down. "Harry, I'm sure he has good intentions at heart." He said. Harry turned to him and _hissed_ "The road to _Hell_ is _paved_ with _good intentions._

"That man is going to kill us all."

"All right. I'll bite – what else do you need to tell us?" Dudley spoke up. The others had been a little scared to ask, Harry could tell.

"If nothing changes, the war will start back up in four years. I am planning on changing that, but… By the time the final battle commenced, I had killed Voldemort four times. Even if it was because of my mother that I could do so."

Harry shook his head. "Either way, I hope to prevent that. The other three who came with me, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood are going to help me – after all, we hold power in the public's eye a well as the government."

 ** _Thanks to every one who informed me of the formatting - hopefully it's fixed now!_**


	7. Part 7: Chapter 6

**_Thanks to everyone who informed me of the coding error. I give digital goodies to all._**

Two days after Harry went to go visit his grandparents, he ran into their room nearly in tears. When asked, he just shook his head. Neville held him until he calmed down before asking again.

"I just forgot how horrible the Vernon was – they didn't want to anger me when I was older, but now I'm eleven again and he's not afraid of me anymore."

Luna rubbed Harry's back, cuddling up to his right side. Draco was in front of him, holding Harry's shin. He didn't know what to do – he wanted to help Harry, like any true friend would, but he knew Harry wouldn't want that. Draco was just the acquaintance that they got stuck with. Or perhaps he was an ally "That's so horrible." Luna said.

Harry nodded. "And what's worse – now that I know what to look for, it's obvious that Aunt Petunia is still bitter about mom leaving her the first chance she got. I honestly can't blame her for being mean even though she's so nice now – not the way I do Uncle Vernon, at least.

"I mean, it's not like she wanted to turn into a bitter bitch, she just misses her baby sister and she knows that I'm going to leave her too and so she didn't want to get close only to lose me. And now with the horcrux out of the way she has gotten close and she's scared and she doesn't mean anything she says she just doesn't want to get hurt again. But Vernon doesn't care – he never did. And he doesn't stop once he's started. And I just hate it. How could Dumbledore put me there when he knows that they hate magic and Petunia is angry and I just remind her of my mom all the time. And he knows I've got a horcrux in my head, and he knows that horcruxes affect people negatively.

"I guess it's good that I've closed off the horcrux so it can't affect them, but Vernon hasn't changed whatsoever. And I just –" Harry cut off to gasp and heaved a single sob. Neville and Luna squeezed Harry, creating a big hug, while Draco sat there awkwardly by Harry's feet. He knew he didn't really deserve to be included – he hurt all three of them every chance he got and was amazed that they had accepted him at all. But then Harry leaned forward and brought him into the hug too. Draco really wanted to ask Harry what the hell he was thinking but refrained until a later date – Harry didn't need an interrogation.

Eventually, Harry calmed down again. For several hours, they all sat there on Harry's bed, hugging each other.

Draco never really had a family, but he thought that this was what family was. He'd never had anybody close enough to be able to say that. Right then, Luna said "How 'bout another lesson? To take our minds off of things."

Harry smiled at her, still a little watery. "Yeah. That'd be nice."

Luna jumped up, "Great. Now, talk to me."

They'd noticed that they seemed to specialize in one area or other, although it was only the last lesson that they made progress. Luna given them homework to watch out for what their field might be.

"I've noticed things like magical potion ingredients and like objects tend to have an aura that I can pick up on. I can even figure out what they do based on the feel and I can figure out how they'd react to other materials!" Draco looked excited by the idea. Neville had this look and Draco could tell he was thinking about potions with Snape.

"So I've got "earthly" magic, I guess you might call it. It sounds similar to Draco's, but I can imbue magic into things, is what I've noticed. Make plants grow faster, have an environment respond to my needs. But I can't 'see' magic that's already there unless I try to imbue it with magic that it doesn't need or want." He said. Harry stared at him. "That would have been useful while horcrux hunting." He stated, before going on to talk about his 'ability'.

"I can see the magic around things. Like the blood wards around my house. And – you'll laugh at this – the miniscule magical core buried in my aunt." Harry snorted. "Dudley's got one too – its bigger. My guess is his kids will be magical. I can't wait to tell him." He snorted. "Vernon'll go off on me, but I think Aunt Petunia won't care. She may even divorce him if he gets too unreasonable, but I doubt it."

 _That would be interesting,_ Draco mused. The idea of Petunia – though he'd never met her, the stories Harry gave were more than enough – divorcing her oh so precious husband and pulling apart her perfectly normal family seemed a little unlikely. Although, Harry did mention her getting lighter on things like that.

Luna smiled brightly at their words. "That's great! Neville seems to have already figured out how to manipulate this ability. Draco, Harry, you should be able to manipulate the magic you see to do what you want, soon. We'll be working on that, next – Neville can help you, considering he's already figured his out."

Harry smiled – that small cruel smile that Draco knew was just a joke, yet he couldn't help himself from shivering. "Watch out Hogwarts, CHAOS is coming and you won't know what hit you."

Draco shivered again at Harry's murmured words. They had expanded on the idea of MHFTP to include several people – like Severus (yes, he was close enough to call him by his name), the twins, but not any of the younger Weasly's or Weasly parents, and there were quite a few in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw that would be "inducted" in later years. Dumbledore wasn't an _evil_ manipulative bastard, but he was, in the very least, severely misguided, if nothing else – and only a single tier below Voldemort. When Draco presented the idea of a third side to war, it was eagerly accepted. Draco figured half of Hogwarts would help them – as long as they were in the year above them, since everyone else had shown their appreciation by ignoring their savior.

It was useful, being from the future; they already knew which adults could be trusted and this new side would create revolutions.

So yeah, Harry could be terrifying when he was plotting, but in the end, Draco was sure it would all work out the way it was supposed.

Although… what if they made a third side of the war? Harry had been surprisingly open-minded when Draco told him that their images of Dumbledore clashed, stating only that it explained a few things. And none of their little group – the inner workings of CHAOS – supported the Dark, so the idea wasn't that far-fetched, except for backing.

"That is a great idea, Draco." Neville said when Draco voiced his thoughts.

Harry nodded. "I'm going to explore the chamber as soon as possible, see how far it goes and hopefully talk to the basilisk. We could set up a headquarters or something. It would give us a secret place to speak. And none of the adults know about it. And this third side could be housed there. The twins, Cedric, Professor Snape once we talk to him." Harry paused. "Possibly the older Weasly's – the ones who've seen the world for what it is. Speaking of, I'm going to need a book about wizarding culture."

Draco nodded, the list sounded good for starting up their third side. "I can get the book." Neville volunteered.

"What should we call our group?" Luna asked.

A couple of suggestions were thrown out, like "'The Grey' (no Neville, that's boring)" or "'Salvatores' (No Draco, "The Saviors" is egotistic)". They finally decided on _"Consulere Vitea",_ Latin for _The Protectors of Life._

On that train of thought, Harry had another. "And we should create a safe place for anybody who wants to just get away from the war. We could call it "Receptus" or something."

Draco thought about it. Receptus meant Asylum, which wasn't bad. But…

"Where would we put it?"

Harry grinned at Draco. "The Forbidden Forest, under a Fidelis charm keyed to the four of us. Or the Chamber of Secrets, if my theory about it being bigger than we think is true."

Harry looked absolutely giddy. Draco wondered if he wasn't lying when he said he wanted to be an Auror. Healer or caretaker of sorts seemed to fit Harry better.

Well, with Harry's abysmal skill at potions, healer was out. But still, he seemed to come to life most when helping someone.

Neville was frowning. "Can even do that? Key a Fidelis to more than one person?"

Harry shrugged. Luna said, "Even if we can't, we could probably alter it to do what we want."

While Luna delved into the history of the Fidelis charm, Harry read up on traditional wizarding culture.

"Wow," He muttered two days later. "My family is a lot more powerful than I thought. "What does this stuff even mean?"

Draco, checking what Harry was looking at, answered "An Ancient family can trace their name back ten generations. Noble families are those that have, every now and then, done incredibly good things that help the wizarding world as a whole. Most Ancient is a family who can trace their name fifteen generations or more, and Most Noble are those who produce the do-gooders more often than 'every now and then'."

"Oh. That explains a lot. I always thought it was favoritism because I'm 'The Boy Who Lived.' So I have a lot more power on the political side of things than I ever knew."

Neville looked up. "Wait. Why don't you know this?"

Draco startled. He was right. Harry stared at him. "What do you mean, Neville? Why would I know this?" His voice was a mixture of infusion, hurt and hate. Draco could guess who the last two emotions were aimed towards.

Draco growled. "There is a mandatory summer class about our culture for all muggle-raised students. You should have gotten an invitation. In June."

Harry looked bewildered. "But none of the muggleborns went, and I certainly never got this invitation.

"Wait. Dumbledore. I wouldn't put it past him to do away with the class – the more I learn about this, the more I realize that he was counting on me to be ignorant of everything and not tell, because honestly, he broke so many rules and laws."

Luna looked up. "I think so too, Harry. Dumbledore was always the hardest to read."

…

That was a little terrifying. If Luna couldn't read him, then who knows what else he's done?


	8. Part 8: Chapter 7

"Wait. I was supposed to be given the keys to my vaults on my birthday?! What the hell?"

The sound woke Luna up from her nap. It was only her and Harry, who was going through another book to try and learn more about the way their world worked.

"Hello Harry. Yes, you were supposed to get your keys. Hagrid still has them?"

Harry grumbled under his breath. "Maybe. He could have given it back to Dumbledore. Whatever. I'll ask about it around Christmas. He won't be able to deny me Christmas."

Luna slipped out of bed and wandered over to Harry. "The Potters are an Ancient family – in all likelihood, you have multiple vaults, and there is probably a copy of your parent's wills in there somewhere too."

"You know, Luna, you seem to be getting less and less weird." Harry suddenly said.

Luna gave him a creepy smile that was meant to make him want take it back and said, "Maybe you're just getting weirder, Harry Potter."

Harry's brows furrowed. "You haven't called me by my full name in a while."

Luna allowed a twinkle to enter her eyes before turning from her friend. "It makes you stop and look at me. Besides, what's weirder than a preteen who spends all his time in his own mind?" She left him there to contemplate those words and entered her "home". It was a replica of her own manor, and the library was filled to the brim. The pasts of everyone she's ever met were written down in 'family' books. The shelves spilled over into the guest rooms – which was okay, because it was her mind and not likely she'd ever have guests. Towards the back, there was an area, sectioned off, reserved for actual knowledge – although, you'd be surprised at how much one person's past can teach you. One look at, say, an alchemist, and you'd know all the theory behind it, if not the practical. It was useful and common enough to have the actual information extracted and set aside.

But at that moment, Luna was looking for something very specific. She couldn't remember it, but her father, Lord Lovegood, took her to meet several of his friends, when she was about six months old. Despite not remembering the encounter, she could remember the couples.

And there it was. The specific family book Luna needed. The lives of Lily and James Potter, inscribed in a large bronze coloured book.

When Luna returned to the rooms, Harry was sitting on the floor. He hadn't moved – not even turned the page.

"Here, Harry. I keep the lives of everyone I meet written down in books – this one has the Potters. I thought it was time it was entrusted to you."

Harry reached up and took it, not even checking the cover. But the picture on the inside made him gasp.

"I don't remember meeting them – I was only about six months old. But I've had their books for as long as I can remember and I thought you could finally genuinely appreciate it."

Tears filled Harry's eyes. His shoulders shook and a single sod made itself heard. "Oh my god. Thank you so much Luna."

Luna sank down next to Harry. He turned the pages slowly – they were there for a few hours. When Harry reached the back, he found another present. There was, what was essentially, a portrait of his parents. It was animated and they could talk. "Oh my god… I –I can't –" Harry heaved another great sob, even as portrait Lily reached out to him. "H-Harry?" She seemed a little confused. "Has it really been seventeen years since w-?"

Luna spoke gently. "Their entire life is in here, and yes, they do remember dying. Daddy took me to their funerals, so the information was imprinted in here too. I'm sorry if this is too much-"

Luna broke off as Harry enveloped her in a hug. "Thanks Luna."

It was three hours later that Neville and Draco entered to find Harry speaking to the picture in the book.

"Neville!" Harry gasped. "Look what Luna gave me!"

Neville looked at the book – the portrait enraptured him. Neither noticed Luna slipping out. Returning to her library, she perused the shelves. I… J… K… there! L's. Linmau, Levlor … Longbottom..

Luna quickly found her way back. "Neville.." She called, holding the book out. "Same deal as with Harry; I don't remember meeting them, but I have the information stored here. Daddy knew that it could be important to know all this, so he took me to meet people – like the Potter's and your parents."

Neville's eyes filled with tears as he took the book. "Thanks Luna."

*.* (8/22)

The next day, both Harry and Neville were grinning. "Thanks Luna," they said together.

Draco watched from his corner, smiling just a little bit. "Hey," he called quietly.

Harry turned. "Yeah Draco?"

"You remember second year, and you said it was a book my father gave to the Weasly girl?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. What about it?"

Draco held up a black journal with T. M. Riddle embossed in gold. Harry jumped – and gave a very startled Draco a very big hug, Luna noted.

"So how do we get rid of it?" She asked. Draco gave her a look, but neither of the other two noticed. Harry was speaking – "Well, basilisk venom, preferably, but fiend fiyre works too. You'll have to bring it to Hogwarts."

It was then that Draco seemed to remember that _technically_ , they were in a shared mind-space and nothing was really tangible. Although they could copy things into the material world, and that was interesting, the ability didn't go both ways.

"Yeah. Basilisk venom? How're you going to get that?"

Harry smirked. "The Basilisk. I'm going to try to talk to it. Maybe if it works, it'll give us some venom."

"And if it doesn't?" Neville asked. Harry shrugged.

And that was the end of that conversation.

"It's going to be weird using our wands again. I mean, we haven't used them in a while." Harry nodded along absently. Luna could tell something was up with him.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Draco asked.

A frown marred Harry's face. "Just a thought. I've seen Snape's memories and I've seen my aunt's memories, but they don't match up. It makes me wonder – if Dumbledore messed with their memories, who else? Maybe Granny Longbottom? My grandmother said that they were close but she's afraid her sister hates her – she specifically said _brainwashed_ , as if the thoughts were her own. Just _how many_ people _did he mess with!?_ "

By the end of the monologue, Harry was having a near panic attack. His voice cracked at _brainwashed_ and he was shrill at the end.

"I don't think he realizes that these are people. We're just numbers in an equation." Neville said. Harry stared at him for a moment, and Luna briefly wondered where Neville had heard of equations (ah.. Harry explained them some years ago) before Harry broke into a grin.

"Yes Neville, you're right. And four variables have just been entered. _W, X, Y,_ and _Z_ have just entered the equation."

Luna shivered a bit. Harry continued. "Variables… we need to be as erratic as possible if we're going to outsmart both Dumbledore and Voldemort."

 ** _By this point, it is the 22nd of August. Nine more full days, or, counting "today", it's ten, until they go to Hogwarts. I'm going to have so much fun writing the first few days._**

 ** _The reason James and Lily said seventeen yers is because they are in Luna's mind, which is seventeen years old._**

 ** _Comment if you have anything you want to see!_**


	9. Part 9: Chapter 8

The next day, both Harry and Neville were grinning. "Thanks Luna," they said together.

Draco watched from his corner, smiling just a little bit. "Hey," he called quietly.

Harry turned. "Yeah Draco?"

"You remember second year, and you said it was a book my father gave to the Weasly girl?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. What about it?"

Draco held up a black journal with T. M. Riddle embossed in gold. Harry jumped – and gave a very startled Draco a very big hug, Luna noted.

"So how do we get rid of it?" She asked. Draco gave her a look, but neither of the other two noticed. Harry was speaking – "Well, basilisk venom, preferably, but fiend fiyre works too. You'll have to bring it to Hogwarts."

It was then that Draco seemed to remember that _technically_ , they were in a shared mind-space and nothing was really tangible. Although they could copy things into the material world, and that was interesting, the ability didn't go both ways.

"Yeah. Basilisk venom? How're you going to get that?"

Harry smirked. "The Basilisk. I'm going to try to talk to it. Maybe if it works, it'll give us some venom."

"And if it doesn't?" Neville asked. Harry shrugged.

And that was the end of that conversation.

"It's going to be weird using our wands again. I mean, we haven't used them in a while." Harry nodded along absently. Luna could tell something was up with him.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Draco asked.

A frown marred Harry's face. "Just a thought. I've seen Snape's memories and I've seen my aunt's memories, but they don't match up. It makes me wonder – if Dumbledore messed with their memories, who else? Maybe Granny Longbottom? My grandmother said that they were close but she's afraid her sister hates her – she specifically said _brainwashed_ , as if the thoughts were her own. Just _how many_ people _did he mess with!?_ "

By the end of the monologue, Harry was having a near panic attack. His voice cracked at _brainwashed_ and he was shrill at the end.

"I don't think he realizes that these are people. We're just numbers in an equation." Neville said. Harry stared at him for a moment, and Luna briefly wondered where Neville had heard of equations (ah.. Harry explained them some years ago) before Harry broke into a grin.

"Yes Neville, you're right. And four variables have just been entered. _W, X, Y,_ and _Z_ have just entered the equation."

Luna shivered a bit. Harry continued. "Variables… we need to be as erratic as possible if we're going to outsmart both Dumbledore and Voldemort."

[{*.*}]

Harry could admit he wasn't really himself, but honestly, who could blame him? The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had been used. And that didn't sit right. Dumbledore had always been there for him, so to think that he had abused the naïve-little-boy part of Harry hurt. And it was thanks to Dumbledore that the Naïve Little Boy was gone. Never coming back. And Dumbledore was going to be in for a surprise when he finally gets to Hogwarts.

Oh-ho-oh – Dumbledore would have a heart attack.

School would be there in only a week and a half and Harry still didn't know what to do about Snape. He knew he wanted the man to like him, and to do that, Harry needed Snape to pity him first. But the man wouldn't care – he'd only see James Potter.

Oh wait.

"What are you thinking about?" Neville asked. Harry shook himself out of his thoughts. "Remember when I said we'd want to get Snape on our side – but first he'd have to pity me so that I can actually talk to him?"

Everyone nodded. Luna was grinning like an idiot – "I like it, Harry." Neville and Draco stared at her.

Harry took a deep breath and answered their unasked question. "What Luna means, is that Snape would never look past my face and see _me_. We need to get him to ignore James Potter and see Lily Evans, otherwise we can say goodbye to one of the most powerful wizards and _the_ most powerful potions master in England. And from what I hear, he can be decent to those he cares about. But that's beside the point. Everyone says I look exactly like my father. Well, I know my father wasn't exactly nice to Professor Snape, and he'll think I'm just like that. But my mum was nice to him. They were friends before Hogwarts and my grandparents practically adopted him. So if I look like more like Lily Evans, he may be more inclined to see the good in me."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "So you're saying you're going to keep as constant glamour up to make yourself look like your mother. Do you know how much energy that'll take?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically. "I've been practicing. Almost none. You know how I can work with pure magic?"

Neville nodded slowly. Luna was still watching serenely. "Well, that's what a magic core is – pure magic that's tied to, but not dependent on, a soul. Ergo, I can work with it. And as such, it takes no energy."

Draco nodded in understanding. Neville followed a few minutes later.

"Show me."

And so he did. Harry made his hair a dark auburn color, and his cheekbones raised up a millimeter. His skin was pale, but there were faint freckles splashing his cheeks, under his eyes, and the bridge of his nose, only ten or so, not like the Weasly's. The more time he spent outside, the darker they grow. In essence, he looked exactly like Lily Evans, compared to before – although, the James in him was still there. A perfect blend of the two, really. His hair was still messy and there were now flecks of brown in his eyes, and his chin remained relatively unchanged, but he looked a lot more like his mother, enough to make Snape stop and look again.

Harry thought Petunia's reaction to his new look was awesome. Picture worthy, really. Harry came into the kitchen to help: "Hey Aunt Petunia, do you need some help?"

"No that fine Har- Harry…"

And as soon as she looked at him, she dropped her dish.

But then it stopped being entertaining. Vernon heard dish shatter and went to check it out – not missing Harry's new appearance.

His face got _really_ purple, _really_ fast. "You freak! What do you think you're doing terrorizing your aunt like that?!"

As he spoke, a hand flew out and knocked Harry to the floor. There was a bright red smudge on his face. "No Vernon, don't." Petunia begged, tugging on her husband's arm. He turned on her next. "Now he's messed with you too!" And he knocked her to the ground. That shook Harry out of his stupor. While she wasn't perfect, Petunia was acting motherly without the horcrux and _nobody_ messed with the people Harry loved.

So he jumped up and stood in front of her. "Get out of the way freak!" Vernon shouted.

Spotting Dudley in the doorway, Harry shook his head silently. Vernon didn't see his son and thought Harry was openly denying him – which wasn't wrong, honestly. Another backhand sent Harry stumbling, and Vernon seized the chance to set upon his wife, who had curled in on herself. "I'll get rid of what that abomination did to you, don't worry." He grumbled. By the time Harry had recovered, Petunia was in bad shape. A silent hex put Vernon out of commission. Harry had hoped he wouldn't have to resort to magic. As soon as Vernon was down, Dudley ran in. Harry had already turned Petunia over and was checking her out.

"Shit." He cursed. Dudley paled. "What's wrong with her?"

"How he managed to bruise both a kidney _and_ her liver in only a few seconds, I will never know."

Dudley paled even further. He didn't know what that meant except it was bad. Harry took the initiative. "Dudley, I'm going to get her some potions. It'll look weird – if anything happens, shake me. Any small, insignificant change could mean death – don't hold back." With those words, Harry retreated into his own mind and flew into Draco's palace. Down in the basement, he knew, was a potions lab to rival Snape's.

This one for pain, ooh this will take care of internal bleeding, a bruise salve, ah- that one for general internal trauma. Harry took off looking for another potion, a non-specific one that would heal general injuries when he was wrenched back into his body. Petunia's breathing had become erratic. Then she started coughing, a horrible gurgling sound. Harry went pale. "Dudley, call the hospital."

Dudley squeaked and ran to do so. As soon as he left the room, Harry pulled up Petunia's shirt. Her entire middle was turning dark, but that wasn't what scared Harry the most. Right there, covered partially by the bra strap, was a nearly black bruise. Her rib had broken, and when he turned her over, it jostled and pierced her lung. "Nononononono"

Dudley ran back in a moment later with the phone. "What do I say?" He asked. Harry had glamoured the bruise as well as he could. The only thing he could comfort himself with was the fact that he knew she still had a few years left at least – probably many more. He took the phone from Dudley and heard "-Ir? I can't–"

Harry interrupted the lady and said, "My aunt's in a critical state – bruised kidney and liver, punctured lung. Multiple lacerations. Broken jaw, probably has a concussion."

The person on the other side of the line hitched. "Ah.. We'll get the EMT's there as soon as possible. Address?"

"No. 4 Privet Drive, Surrey."

As soon as Harry hung up, he sent Dudley to go get Figg.

"Who?" He asked.

"The old cat lady with the broken leg!" Harry snapped, too worried about Petunia to even care. He carefully rubbed the pain relieving balm on some of the more minor bruises, avoiding open wounds (Really, how hard that man could hit!) and major injuries. Mrs. Figg ran in a few minutes later, and a moment after that, an ambulance arrived. The EMT's rushed in, quickly taking care of Petunia's more minor injuries and gently lifting her onto a stretcher.

"We've only got room for one." The guy who seemed to be in charge said. Dudley shoved Harry forward. "Go. You saved her life – besides, dad's not about to kill _me_."

He said the last part quietly, so as not to alert the medical personnel. Harry narrowed his eyes at his cousin, but had to admit the logic.

The ride to the hospital was a short one. The EMT's kept Petunia alive, though her vitals fluctuated constantly. Petunia was immediately carried into the ER while Harry was sent to a waiting room. A few minutes later a nurse led him into his own little room and he was plopped onto a bed. The lady – she was a plump motherly person – checked out Harry's own injuries and interrogated him.

"What happened?" She demanded.

"A large man attacked." Harry's answer was short and sweet. The nurse frowned. "What did he look like?" She asked. Harry's mouth remained firmly shut. She tried again, "How did he get into the house?" Again, Harry refused to answer. It was Petunia's business to share. The nurse sighed.

All of a sudden, Harry stiffened. He'd been keeping tabs on Petunia – and they'd just lost her. "Shit," Harry cursed. The nurse looked affronted, but Harry didn't care. He took off down the corridor, where the doctors rushing around to fix it. One of them tried to push Harry back, but Harry wasn't having any of that. Three ghostly forms sparked into existence around him. Draco to the left, Neville to the right, and Luna behind. The doctors immediately backed off, especially when they headed straight towards Petunia. In tandem, they began working. Neville and Draco grabbed a hand each, while Luna hovered over Petunia's mid-section. Harry put his hands on either side of her head, and was instantly drawn into Petunia's consciousness. It was inky black all around, and there in the middle was Petunia. She looked bad – her face pale and her eyes dark. But then she started to look better. Two ghostly apparitions 'poofed' into existence in front of Petunia, their backs to Harry – but Petunia had already seen him. "Petunia" One of the ghosts spoke. Her voice was familiar, but disconnected. "Lily." Petunia whispered in awe. "Potter."

"Petunia! How dare you go and get yourself killed!?" Lily screamed. James looked on, uninterested. Petunia looked down. "I was protecting Harry." She whispered.

Lily gasped. "He's in danger?"

Petunia shook her head. "Not anymore, I don't think. My husband was being a bastard. Harry found several charms that were altering my emotions and memories. I don't think I would have married him of my own free will."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Harry hasn't been to Hogwarts yet."

Petunia caught Harry's eye, who nodded.

"He got sent here from the future. He already knows everything. He even glamoured himself to look like you, Lily." Petunia had a slightly wistful smile.

Lily was grinning. "That's nice. What's he like?"

Lily and Petunia talked for a while, until Petunia asked, "If Harry were here right now, what would you do?"

James answered first. "I'd hug him and tell him how happy I am."

Harry frowned. _Tell me how happy he is that I'm dead?_

Apparently, Lily was thinking the same thing. "You want him dead, James? If Harry were here, I'd hug him and tell him I love him, and then scream and shout until my voice is gone because _my little baby is dead!_."

"I don't see the problem. Our whole family would be together, for the first time in ten years." Something about James' tone, or words, or both, bothered Harry.

"And what about his family. Surely he's got friends – maybe someone wormed their way into his heart and he has a surrogate sibling. Or girlfriend. As long as Harry's alive, he's happy. James." Lily nearly hissed.

"He could be depressed." James mumbled.

Lily swiped at him. Harry vacantly wondered if her animagus was some sort of feline. "Even if he was depressed, if he was alive, he wasn't un-save-able. He wouldn't have reached the edge."

Lily's words touched Harry in a way he didn't know was possible. His eyes blurred and his smile got impossibly wide. It was that moment that the figure appeared. He appraised Harry for a few moments before deciding on something.

"I am Death." He said. "Thanatos, Hel, the Reaper. I'm known by a lot of different names."

None of the other three seemed to notice. Death continued. "Y'know, I wasn't going to pay Destiny any attention when she spoke of the blessings, but now… You, Harry, are the only person who would go to such lengths to save someone. Destiny was right. You do deserve this blessing." Harry took a step back.

"Whoa. Blessing? What's that mean?"

Death smiled. It didn't look all that creepy, like one would expect. Harry guessed it was the idea that Death was enticing, and this figure resembled that. "The blessing of life. You would be able to cheat me as long as you are needed. You can bring back someone, or two someone's, as long as they are irreplaceable."

"And my friends?" Harry asked.

Death thought for a minute. "Destiny suggested other blessings for them, so it is up to 'their' deity."

Harry nodded. It made sense. They'd have to earn their blessings. "Okay. I'm good with that."

Death nodded and placed his hand over Harry's heart. A pulse of magic burst out and Death retreated. "You know, I came for the woman, but I will be leaving negative one."

And with that, he disappeared. Looking back at the trio, he found Petunia and Lily glaring at James. Harry could figure what had happened. Now what did Death mean, negative one? Is he letting Harry bring back Petunia his parents? No wait, just one of them… right?

Harry leaned on a post – wait, post? Whatever. "You know, I only heard part of that conversation, but it seemed interesting." He commented. James and Lily turned sharply. "Harry," Lily whispered. James smiled. "You look like your mother."

Harry smiled – the glamour even fooled dead people. "Hey."

Petunia snorted. Nobody said much for a minute. Harry finally broke the silence. "I've got to say, if I were in your guys' place, I would be on Mum's side right now."

James flinched. Petunia snorted again. "I told you he was a selfish bastard."

Lily stared at James. "I've always overlooked that part of you, James, in fact, it was once endearing, knowing you loved me so much that you were so overprotective. But wishing your son, _my son,_ dead? I don't think I can forgive that."

James flinched. "I'm sorry. I just… I need the people I love to be near; it helps anchor me. I- I love both of you."

Lily stared, her eyes cold and unforgiving. "I need the people I love to be alive."

James flinched.

Harry spoke. "I just spoke to Death."

Lily covered her mouth. "You aren't dead, are you?"

Harry shook his head no. "He said that he came for Aunt Petunia, but that he was leaving with negative one. I think that means I get to bring Aunt Petunia back – but that would make zero, so I think I also get to bring one of you."

Petunia got over her shock first, laughing silently. James came out next; he pushed Lily forward. She stumbled, glared, then made the connection.

"You don't want to go and be with Harry?" She asked. James shrugged helplessly. "I _do_ , but you brought up some good points. I've never been fair to you. I love you Lily. Go live your life. Who knows? Maybe I'll find the right fit here in the afterlife. You go be you. Find someone who can be good for you and Harry."

Lily eyes filled with tears. She gave James a hug. "Thanks." He walked up to Harry. "Be good for your mother." He said, giving Harry a big hug.

Five minutes later, everyone was ready. Right as they were about to leave, however, James stopped them. "Sorry. I'm going to be a selfish bastard on last time, though." He said and pulled Lily into a long kiss. "One last kiss. I will always love you… don't wait for me." He said before releasing her.

A moment later, they were in the hospital room again. Ghost Luna gave Harry a big hug before fading. Neville and Draco did the same and soon, Harry was left in the hospital with two returned and a bunch of really confused medical personnel.

Putting as much power into his voice as possible, he said, "Nothing in this room leaves this room."

They all nodded. Quickly.

"Now for the fun part. Mum, your return has to be dramatic. So how're we going to do that?"


	10. Part 10: Chapter 9

"Now for the fun part. Mum, your return has to be dramatic. So how're we going to do that?"

[{*.*}]

They decided they would try to work it so that everything political would be done before school was in – like getting Sirius out of Azkaban, and getting Pettigrew in. How they were going to do that in a week and a half, Harry had no clue. And how they were going to keep it quiet, Harry also had no idea, but Lily was an expert in those areas and had it done. While Harry chilled with his friends, Lily stood in front of a court. She was hooded, so none of them could see her. She tackled the Sirius problem, first pointing out that he never had a trial, then that he was never given Verisatum. When Dumbledore pointed out that he admitted to the fact that Sirius admitted to killing the Potters, Lily, still in her hood, said "Well maybe he was feeling guilty that he couldn't stop it – he was laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation."

And with those words, the court brought in Sirius and tried him on Verisatum. They were shocked – and when it was over, Sirius was still glaring at Dumbledore. Then he looked around and asked who he owed his freedom to. At that point (A few days later), Lily, still hooded, had brought Remus Lupin in. Remus, apparently, had this twinkle in his eye. Lily had wandered into the courtroom and grabbed him Sirius by the shoulder and said, "Come, Padfoot! I can show you the world!"

Remus didn't get that, which surprised Lily, considering he had a thing for muggle culture. She apparated them into the kitchen. Harry had found a wonderful loophole with Dumbledore's wards – they wouldn't notify Dumbledore if anyone with Harry's blood apparated in, and they wouldn't notice side-along's either.

Vernon, who was in the kitchen at the time, fell on his "Patooshka". Harry wasn't sure where he'd heard the word, but it was so fun to say. "Hello Vernon. How's your day been?" Lily asked as if she hadn't given him a heart attack, the proceeded to sweep by him and wandered up to Harry's room. Remus and Sirius looked at each other and followed her up.

Now, Harry had been following them all with a disillusion charm and a silencer, though Remus had probably smelled him. He magically expanded his room and created another, really, for them. It was the confrontation that was most amusing. Remus stopped inside the room and said, "Who are you? You smell and sound like Lily, but she's been dead ten years."

Lily took off her hood, letting her hair fall down. Her eyes were glowing green and she had a small smile. "I'm not going to go into detail, Remus, but no, I'm not dead. I am very much alive."

Sirius' jaw had dropped. "Wow. You look… exactly the same. What's with your eyes?"

Remus elbowed Sirius, but before he could do anything, Harry had come up between them, and canceling the silencing charm, whispered, "Avada Kedavra green, hmmm?"

Remus jumped a foot in the air. Sirius, unbelievably, had better control over himself. Or maybe Remus' senses startled him. Either way, Sirius said, "Who's there?"

Harry snorted and canceled the disillusion. He forgot, at times, his altered appearance, so it startled him when the two men began looking between the two, over and over. "Harry?" Sirius asked. Remus rushed over and grabbed Harry's face. "Oh my gosh. You look so much like your mother!" Harry found that amusing, considering he'd always been told he looked like his dad. "I mean, it's like a perfect merge but I expected you to look like James!"

Sirius nodded as Harry extracted himself from Remus' grip and stretched his jaw. "Wow… you have a strong grip." Remus looked abashed but Sirius didn't pay him any attention. "Y'know, he used to look like James… he had his dad's black hair and cheekbones, I mean, even his eyebrows are different – sort of feminine, but not enough to take away the boyish-ness that is the rest of his face."

Sirius continued to ramble on; Harry looked at Remus and whispered, too quiet for anyone else to hear, "Did he just call me feminine?"

Remus' face was wonderful, a mixture of "How did he know?" and "Oh my gosh I love this kid!"

Sirius caught the expression his friend wore and stopped. "Remus. Buddy. What's wrong?" Remus shook his head and said "He knows… Did you tell him, Lily?"

Lily shook her head, and Remus continued to stare at Harry. He must have decided how Harry knew wasn't important because he said, "And all you got out of that was 'Feminine'?"

Harry nodded. "Yep! And I'm from the future, so technically, I know you two. But you don't know me and I didn't really get to spend much with either of you then so…" Harry muttered to himself, then shook himself. "Whatever. Hi! I'm Harry, nice to meet you!"

Harry wore a genuine smile – and he knew it made him look very innocent. Like an angel. Both adults ended up cooing. "Oh he's adorable!" Remus said. "He got all the best features, Lily."

Harry smiled – this glamour would work perfectly. If he could make Sirius go wide-eyed and speechless just because he's cute…

And because a week can't overcome ten years of abuse and starvation, he was small and skinny. That would serve its purpose.

"Ten years of abuse and starvation!?" Sirius cried. "I don't know you that well, but I will not stand for it."

Remus had already started down the stairs. Not good. Harry couldn't believe he said that out loud.

Aunt Petunia was halfway through the door, having come back from a meeting to file a divorce. Harry watched in horror as his aunt was strangled by a werewolf.

"Remus! Remus stop!" Lily shouted. Harry forced Remus' hands off Petunia's throat. "Remus stop!" He said forcefully. "She was spelled. The only one who actually wants to hurt me is Uncle Vernon. And no! You're not killing him either. He'll get his justice."

"You were abused?" Sirius asked weakly. He seemed to have lost all his fire, thinking his godson had been abused because he couldn't take care of him – at least, that's what Harry hoped. It wouldn't be good for him to have gone insane.

"Albus Dumbledore. He wants me to be his perfect little warrior. He wasn't going to tell anyone about the horcrux in my head. He had children doing what he wanted and I don't know if their parents are in on it too. I hope not. Back in the future, well, I rather liked that family, except for the two who, well, pretty much betrayed me."

Harry sighed. "He placed charms on her and several others to make them hate me. She was encouraged to mistreat me. Had she been in her right mind, it never would have happened."

"Harry…" Sirius tried again. "This is all my fault. If I'd just been smarter, I wouldn't have gone to Azkaban and you would have grown up loved."

Harry vacantly wondered if the random mood swings were because of Azkaban, but decided it didn't matter.

*.*

It was August thirtieth, the day before school began, that it happened. It took Harry a while to figure out what it was, but once he had, it was a little disturbing.

Remus had grabbed his shoulder and Harry flinched. It continued for the rest of the day, and that evening, Harry asked Luna if she knew anything about it. Apparently, Harry's soul had settled in and since his body has adjusted, any habits that eleven-year-old Harry had were coming back.

Remus and Sirius had adjusted quite well, and were excited for Harry to be off to Hogwarts so they could finalize things that needed to be finalized. They were going to be moving into one of the Potter residences later on. The two men quickly discovered that Petunia could be pretty decent, especially considering that with her death came the breaking of the charms, which was only noticed later on. It was confirmed that yes, Severus Snape was all but adopted by the elder Evans', and yes, he probably had extensive memory charms placed on him.

Harry was prepared to commit murder. The small part of him that hoped Dumbledore wasn't really behind all of this shrunk every time more evidence presented itself. By that point in time, it was no bigger than a nerve cell. And the little appendages were getting snuffed out as quick as possible.

Harry growled just thinking about it. He couldn't help the fact that every time he remembered something about his old life, he realized that it was, in some way, connected to the headmaster. It would drive anyone to insanity.

At least quarreling with Draco was still as fun as ever


	11. Part 11: Chapter 10

Harry went over everything he could remember from that first day on the way to King's Cross. Anything important.

 _"I think Mum's got a second cousin whose and accountant, but we don't talk about him"_ entered his mind. Oh that would be fun.

Petunia dropped him off at King's Cross. The rough treatment hurt, he knew it was all an act to throw Dumbledore off. He wandered around, doing a fairly good job of looking lost before spotting the Weasley's. He dropped several hints around the twins, and sure enough, they entered his compartment right before the train took off, right behind Ron, who sat across from him. The twins took seats on either side of him.

"We hear Harry Potter is on the train!" They said together.

"Really?" Harry asked, sounding interested. "What's he look like?'

"Dumbledore said he's got green eyes and black hair and looks like his father…"

"But how does he know? The last anyone saw him was when he was a baby."

"I mean, he could have red hair like him mum,"

"He could be sitting in the next compartment over and we wouldn't know!"

They kept their twin-speak to a minimum, which Harry was thankful for. He smiled. "I like the way you think."

Ron cut in then, "How could you like that? It's impossible to understand them!"

"It's not that hard. Just listen to the words being said. But never mind. Is all your family magic?"

One of them nodded. Harry thought it was Fred. Ron said, "Mum's got a second cousin whose an accountant. We don't really talk about him though."

George looked sad about that. "So unfortunate. I want to meet him. He could help dad with his muggle fascination."

Ron's face hardened. "Squibs are disgraces." Harry tensed. He wasn't expecting that. "They are the opposite of muggleborns. Muggleborns are gifts. To have a squib in the family is a curse."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Fred's jaw clench. George was gripping his legs as though he was holding back the urge to hit something.

With his head held high, Harry stood up. "I'm sorry. I wasn't aware I was from a family of disgraces. I'll be leaving now."

Harry nodded to Fred and George, grabbed his stuff and walked out. He was nearly to Neville's compartment before the twins caught up. "We're sorry," Fred said.

"Ron's a git."

"I don't think we introduced ourselves."

"The red-heads are all Weasley's, I can tell you that."

"I'm Gred, and this is Forge."

Harry smiled. "Harry Potter."

Fred's jaw dropped. Harry laughed. "I'm not some god, Fred. I'm just an eleven-year-old kid."

George shook him out of his stupor, laughing. "Oh wait till Ron realizes what he's done! Dumbledore is going to be so mad!"

Harry frowned. "Dumbledore? What's he got to do with this?"

Fred sighed. "Money is tight. We can barely afford to send Ginny and Ron to Hogwarts, with all the new textbooks every year. Dad asked Dumbledore for help if we ever need it. None of us like it, but… Dumbledore wants to control you, I think…"

"Dumbledore is playing dirty; I can tell you that. Ron doesn't know why he's supposed to befriend you, but he doesn't really care either. Be careful around people though. Dumbledore will probably still be happy if we're your friends, but we aren't going to spy for him." George finished.

Harry smiled. He knew they would make good friends. Now about Percy… "Is it just you three? I thought I saw another red-head within the gaggle you call a family."

Fred smiled. "Percy. Our older brother. He's a fifth year. Sometimes he's a git…"

"But he really does try his best to take care of us. Can't be easy, he's stuck right in the middle."

"Like us, but without a twin to help him."

"There's also Bill and Charlie. They're the oldest. Then Percy, us, Ron and Ginny. Us and Percy are right in the middle."

"We hate it and we have each other."

"Don't blame Percy for being cranky every now and then."

"He hates our life. Poverty and stuff. Not his thing."

"…"

"Talking about me now?"

The twins spun around. There, leaning on the wall was Percy, prefect badge and all. "Percy," Fred said. "How're you?" George finished.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Trying to scare the firsties away, are you?"

George smiled innocently. "No. Just being blunt. He seems to appreciate it. 'Sides, we told him you've got good intentions but get stressed,"

"Being in the middle like us. Told 'im not to hold it against you if you say something you don't mean."

Percy looked surprised. Apparently he wasn't used to being appreciated… or liked. That was actually pretty sad. "Umm… Okay." He said. His stance told Harry that Percy was full of questions, but he moved on. "You gonna introduce me?"

"Ah yes." George said. "Percy, Harry Potter; Harry, Percy Weasley."

Percy started, staring at Harry, then relaxed. "Alright. What are you doing out here?"

Fred sighed. "Ron insisted on pushing his beliefs onto Harry here." Percy winced, guessing which _beliefs_ they were talking about.

"Insulted him pretty bad too, if 'es telling the truth about his family."

The three looked at him. Harry nodded. "It's a little known fact. My grandmother's from a powerful pureblood family and my grandfather's the son of two muggleborns. My aunt and cousin too. Gonna shock Dudley too, when his kids are magic."

"Which family is she from?" Fred asked.

"Fowley."

"Ah."

*.*

The rest of the ride passed without any problems. Percy left to go do his rounds as Prefect, and Harry led Fred and George to Neville. They seemed to realize something pretty soon, and when they asked if there was any relation between Harry's grandmother and Neville's, the whole story was spilled.

When they realized that Dumbledore had played a hand in Harry's abuse, the twins blew a top.

And finally, they arrived at Hogwarts. The castle was still wonderfully enchanting. Hagrid led the first years down to the lake, where Harry and Neville captured a boat. Draco did a good of playing the kid who got separated from the others and hopped in with them. Someone Harry knew would be a Hufflepuff – Hanna Abbott – took the fourth seat.

"Hello Hannah." Harry said. Hannah looked so startled. "How do you know my name?" Harry ginned at her even as Draco elbowed him as hard as possible. He held in a flinch at the touch, winked, and said, "You'll know before the school year is over."

Neville face palmed. It was right then that they entered the ivy. The Hogwarts wards washed over them. _Welcome back,_ she seemed to say. _"You can cross time?"_ Harry whispered. _Of course I can, I'm over a thousand years old;_ the tingling feeling left and Harry felt his connection with the castle fade. Draco and Neville were as wide eyes as Harry, jaws slack. "Wow"

Harry nodded. "Yeah.."

Hannah was staring at them weirdly.

*.*

McGonagall was just as scary-stern as she used to be. Her speech about the houses left him in awe again, even if I wasn't the first time he heard it.

Ron whispered, "My brothers told me you have to fight a troll."

Harry grinned. Draco shivered. "That's not all, Ron," Harry started. "You're not allowed to use your wand, is what I heard. You have to stay alive for five minutes, and that determines your house."

Ron flinched. Neville snickered. The twins would so proud.

The ghosts scared the pee out of all the first years again – this time around, it was hilarious to watch the reactions of the others instead. And a minute later, McGonagall came back in and led the group into the Great Hall. Hermione began whispering spells and facts again.

Then McGon – you know, maybe he should call her _Professor_ – ahem – Professor McGonagall whipped out the Sorting Hat. She went over what to do and immediately began. "Abbott, Hannah!"

"Hufflepuff!"

And so it commenced! Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor again. Two people later, Neville was called. Ron was glaring at Harry, looking like he wanted to punch something. Harry ignored him, letting the hat into his mind when it probed around. _Interesting, Mr. Potter. You are not what I expected._

The hat poked around a bit but left quickly. A minute later, Neville was placed in Hufflepuff. Another name and then it was Draco's turn. He seemed to have an argument with the hat, but he wasn't immediately thrown into Slytherin like he had the first time around. Harry wasn't sure what to anticipate when he put on the hat. Would it try to put him in Slytherin again? There was one more name called before "Potter, Harry!"

Mutters broke out – again. Harry hated that. He walked up to the hat; his scared little boy act in place. Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at Harry and Professor McGonagall smiled brightly at him…

Wait. She was a cat animagus. She didn't like the Dursley's. She wanted the best for him.

Harry smiled shyly back at her, realizing that she probably knew everything already, from checking in on him, but deciding he didn't mind. He did send a quick message to the other three, knowing they would want to know.

By then he was at the stool and the hat placed over his head.

 _Well hello Mr. Potter._

"Hello."

 _Mmm this is hard. You want to go to Gryffindor but you would make a great Slytherin._

"You said that last time. I have the stuff to get into Gryffindor too."

 _Yes, but it is drowned out by the Slytherin characteristics._

"Look, I agree that I could go into Slytherin, but we kind-of have to have inter-house unity and I can't help with that if we have two Slytherins and no Gryffindors."

 _I'm sure you'd figure something out._

"I also need to be friends with someone no-one would expect to, and it'd be expected in Slytherin."

 _Why is it so important you need to befriend Mr. Malfoy?_

"The Potters and Malfoys never really got along. Not as bad as with the Weasley's, but if I, a _Gryffindor,_ befriends a Slytherin Malfoy, it would show that I am not my parents and I am willing to overcome past issues. It would make Snape hate me a little less. It would encourage other to bridge gaps. It would make children want to be different from their parents."

 _You've really thought this through._

"Yes I have. I agree with all your points, but I really _need_ to be in Gryffindor."

 _All right. You've convinced me. "GRYFFINDOR!" Don't make me regret this._

Harry's eyes burned as the light came back. He stood up, blinking, and shyly walked over to the Gryffindor table. The twins were singing "We got Potter!" again. They grabbed Harry by the arms and tugged him in-between them. Harry silently thanked them. A few more people went, then it was Ron's turn to go up. There was a pause before "GRYFFINDOR!" was shouted.

Dumbledore made his speech after Blaise ran off to the Slytherin table, and then dinner was served. Harry only took a little bit. His stomach still didn't want to eat much, but he'd been working on overcoming the starvation he'd been through. It worked in his favor though; being small, flinching, not eating much. If anything, Snape might notice it and be a little nicer. Maybe, maybe not. Dessert appeared, and soon that was over too. Dumbledore made his speech. He looked right at Harry when he told them to stay away from the third floor. Harry scowled.

Did Dumbledore really think that Harry would go after the Stone?

Harry ignored him until they wandered up to the Gryffindor tower. Professor McGonagall went over the rules, and sent the first years up to bed. "Mr. Potter, stay behind please."

[{*General 3rd Person POV*}]

Harry waited for her to finish up with the other years and send them up too, and followed the professor to her office. The talked a bit until Harry sensed Professor Snape outside the door, and he said, "You know my secret." Very loudly. Snape stilled, hand poised to knock. "Yes I do." Professor McGonagall said, going along with him. "You're from the future, right?"

Harry made an affirmative noise. "How? Why?" McGonagall asked.

Harry sighed. "My life the first time around sucked. I was abused, starved, lived in a cupboard. I didn't get my Hogwarts letter because my uncle kept tearing it to pieces. Eventually, Hagrid was sent come get me. He took me to Diagon Alley. My wand is different this time around. Last time, I had the brother wand to Voldemorts'. That scared me – Ollivander said that he did terrible, great things. It got worse when I was _almost_ sorted into Slytherin, but I convinced it to put me into Gryffindor." Severus jerked a bit – _what?_

"On Halloween, a troll was let into the castle. We were told during the feast, and a friend and I went after a girl who didn't know. We ended up fighting the troll. That was… elgh. Later on, through a series of clues that I am sure were planted, the three of us went after the Philosopher's Stone, which was hidden in the third floor corridor.

"Second year, it began on Halloween again. Actually, everything begins on Halloween. The three of us went to Nick's Deathday Party and later found Mrs. Norris petrified. It began happening everywhere. Some thought it was the muggleborns being targeted. Eventually, one of the friends figured out it was a basilisk. Another friend had been possessed by Voldemorts horcrux. I killed the basilisk, but my arm impaled by a fang. Fawkes healed it. Third year, Sirius Black broke out of prison. Everyone thought he was after me. On the train, we got up close and personal with a dementor. Later, Professor Lupin had us fight a boggart – mine was a dementor. Whoop. Then I was attacked during a quidditch game. Professor Lupin began teaching me the Patronus charm. Through another series of events, we discovered Sirius was innocent, as well as my godfather, and that Lupin is a werewolf and that it was Peter Pettigrew that was my parents secret keeper." Harry paused here, and Snape started – Sirius Black _what_?

"Fourth year was the Tri-Wizard tournament; a death-eater forced me to participate. During the last Trial, the portkey-cup took Cedric Diggory – the really Hogwarts champion – and I to a graveyard where Pettigrew used my blood to return Voldemort to life. Cedric was killed and I was scarred for life. After that… the Ministry didn't want to believe that He was back, but Hogwarts did. We were preparing for war. A lot happened. Sirius died, Remus died, Dumbledore died, Professor Snape literally jumped in front of Voldemort's snake in an effort to save me… He gave me some of his memories in his last moments. I learned of the prophecy too.

"Myself and the two friends went "Horcrux Hunting." I learned that horcruxes give off dark vibes. I learned that there was a horcrux inside me. I went to face Him alone, weaponless, in an effort to destroy the horcrux and fulfill the prophecy." Even though he couldn't see him, Harry could tell that Snape was freaking out.

He was right. Severus was freaking out about the _horcrux_ part. Sure, he didn't want to like the boy, but he made a promise, and Severus Snape _always_ kept his promises. And the boy, so far, had lived a bad life. A life Severus wouldn't wish on anyone, worst enemy or no.

"And then life went on. Since most of us missed a year, an 8th year was added. But there were whispers. People began accusing me of becoming the next dark lord. Life sucked. Only three people treated me normal. One was Neville. His gran placed a curse on him so that any mention of me or if he talked to me, he'd get a horrible rash. He spent three days in the hospital wings, but we sort of developed a sign language that worked for us. Another was Draco. That one is kind of weird. He tried to be my friend but circumstances… and we ended up enemies. But I didn't change in his eyes, so I offered a truce and we became friends, later that night when we met up with Neville and Luna. Luna was someone that everyone thought to be a bit nuts. The truth is, she can see _you,_ everything that makes someone the person they are and, as long as humans have control over the circumstances, she can accurately predict the future. You'll meet her next year.

"During that meeting, Luna told us that something would happen. That she couldn't tell what it was, but that it wouldn't be a bad thing. She just couldn't get a good read for it because it was a work of Destiny – not nature, Destiny. And it did. When I woke up, it was seven years in the past, only a month ago. We all appeared on our birthdays, Luna first. She discovered all she could about our little problem and well, we have a mental connection. So since then, we've been planning and trying to make sure nobody dies, or better yet, the war never starts.

"But worst of all, I found charms on my aunt and cousin. They were forced to abuse me. My aunt had memory charms, hatred charms and compulsion charms on her. And her memories, the ones that are real, they don't match up… I told you, Professor Snape gave me some memories. But his are different from my aunts. He's probably had his mind messed with too.

"And then my aunt tried to stand up for me. She got herself killed. The memory charms broke though. All of them! When I managed to enter her consciousness, I met Death and he let me take Aunt Petunia and my mom.

"My mom's alive. And she agrees, Snape probably had been messed with. I don't know what to do, although I do know that I have already been though all this, so I am going to have some fun; life was so stressful the first time around."

Harry took a deep breath and looked straight into Professor McGonagall's eyes. "At this point, professor, after so many near death-experiences, I wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to have faked the prophecy.

 _"He could have faked the prophecy that killed my parents."_

Severus stumbled back and sank down against the wall. "No.." He breathed.

Professor McGonagall, one to wear out every possibility before coming to a conclusion, asked, "If the prophecy was fake, then how would it be completed?"

Severus allowed himself to breathe – she was right. But Harry sighed. "I've thought of that. If all the participants of the prophecy believe it's true, then it will be fulfilled, thus making it seem like a real prophecy. I believed it was real, Voldemort believed it was real, so it was fulfilled."

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be professor," Harry gave her a watery smile. "If that didn't happen, I wouldn't be here; I'd be surrounded by people who hate me, I'd think my entire family hates me, and I never would have gotten my mum back. Remus and Sirius would be dead, and Pettigrew ruined everything. I wouldn't be able to tell you the truth; Professor Snape would have died after living such a horrible life. I wouldn't have had a chance to be happy."

"This life is already so much better than my last and I am so grateful for it. So don't be sorry."

Professor McGonagall gave Harry a big hug. "Then I'm sorry you had to go through all that to get here in the first place."

"Thanks professor."

There was a pause that Severus used to review everything he had heard, then Professor McGonagall asked, "Who all knows?"

Harry smiled again. "You. Professor Snape, my aunt, cousin and grandparents, the twins. Not many. Luna's dad knows too. That's it as far as I know."

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "You trusted four muggles with this secret? And how does Sev-everus know?"

Harry smiled. "I trusted four squibs with the secret. My grandmother was a Fowley and my grandfather is Myrtle's sister's son. And Professor Snape knows because he's outside your door."

Severus almost didn't hear the last part. He stood up to run away but heard Professor McGonagall said, "I take it you wanted him to hear?"

Harry laughed. "Of course I did. If it was anyone else, I would have taken you to the Room of Requirement. Can you take off memory charms?"

Professor McGonagall looked affronted. "Of course I can! You don't think after sixty years, I wouldn't have picked it up?" Harry laughed and left it there. "I'm tired." He said and walked out the door. "I'll see you in the morning, Professor."

*.*

Severus Snape left Minerva McGonagall's office at one in the morning, exhausted, yet happier than he had been in years… the memories of Dumbledore writing that prophecy were at the front of his mind – Severus hadn't known what to do when Dumbledore placed that wand at Severus' head. He particularly didn't like that he trusted Dumbledore not to harm him.

 _Well Dumbledore bloody well harmed him!_

* * *

 _Hi! Did you like that?_

 _3,7oo words - that's the longest so far (except for part 2, but that was kinda chapters 1, 2 , 3 and 4 combined, so... that would mean this is really chapter 13, not 1o, but whatever.) I have chapter goals of 2,ooo words per chapter; minimum 1,5oo words. Is that a good chapter length? I can do shorter chapters with faster updates or keep my current schedule of every Tuesday and/or Thursday with these chapters._

 _Also, sorry for missing the Thursday update, I had a minor case of writer's block, but as you can see, I got over it quickly. Here's a free random Sunday update._

 ** _Who do you want Lily paired with? Couples aren't going to come until later, as that is not really the focus of this story, but I would like to keep that in mind._**

 _Also, has anyone else noticed that Bill Weasley was 1o when the Potter's were attacked? I wanted to check on some dates and found that, and I guess I kind of knew, but it still surprised me. He's closer in age to Harry's parents than he is to Harry. Or at least right in the middle there, depending on birthdays._

 ** _Oh ignore this little side-rant of mine... but really, give me pairings - and not just for Lily! Give me all of them! There's a poll. Go vote!_**


	12. Part 12: Chapter 11

Severus Snape was plotting. Of course he was. It had just been revealed to him that Dumbledore killed his love, never mind her recent return. Life for Severus had just been turned on its head. Perhaps it was time to retire.

No, Lily wouldn't want that. And he was only thirty-one.

He needed a drink.

No, if Minerva found him drinking on the second day of school… shudder worthy.

But life was turned on his head. Dumbledore had created the prophecy. Lily died for nothing. That poor boy had lived a life of pain until now. It was only the first day of school and already Severus had a migraine.

Life really sucked. As in, that phrase, "Life sucks and then you die" kind of sucks.

But Severus had been in worse situations. Lily was back for an indiscriminate amount of time – hopefully decades. He had four kids who'd already lived out the future and know how to prevent _that_ future, which seemed like a good idea, since Draco had given the professor the full story.. and it wasn't nice. They were creating a third side to the war. They were creating a safe haven for the innocents. There was going to be recruiting – anyone trustworthy would be inducted. There would be hope for the people.

It was better than the light and the dark sides (all the good parts of them) combined.

Severus knew who he'd be fighting for – ironic that it was a bunch of children. The adults on the other sides acted like children and the children acted like adults. It was, honestly, quite pathetic, how far humans had fallen in the presence of magic.

Honestly… muggles could kill millions in one go. Could magic do that? No.

Hmm… maybe he'd scare Weasley with that little fact. No, that's loose him his job.

But anyways… back to the plotting.

Yes, Severus Snape was plotting. He was going to try and determine anyone safe for the war effort. The boys had explained that they were mostly targeting upperclassmen, as they hadn't been there to betray anyone. Luna had been there as a spirit, but didn't offer much input. (Severus Snape… you will get retribution and revenge in the near future, if you don't mess up again. Do try not to mess up. The budgers are rather fond of you).

Draco told Severus not to worry about anyone coming in. They knew who absolutely could not be trusted, those who went with the crowd and thus could be swayed, and those who died and couldn't have betrayed anyone either.

So, Severus was making a list according to their standards; three sections – crowdlings and trustees and no-cares. There were quite a few trustees, many more than crowdlings. Second year had the least trustees and the most crowdlings, while seventh year had the opposite. Severus supposed it was because the seventh years had, roughly, been seven or eight years old when the war ended. Severus wouldn't be surprised if someone as young as the Weasley brothers had scars from that time. They may have only been three years old at the time, but the atmosphere of fear almost definitely affected them. It was, after all, their formative years. The most influential part of life. The other Weasley boys were also affected by it. Bill Weasley had been in his first year when the war ended, hadn't he? And the next one had come just two years later. Charlie. Those two were almost Slytherins in the way that they wanted out. Eleven and nine, growing up during a war – they were the most affected.

Severus looked down at his list, shaking himself out of his thoughts. " _SECOND YEARS: Trustees; Katie Bell(G), Christine Mayers(R), Anthony Wytte(H), Wyatt Hobbs(H), Marcus Grypten(G)…"_ and so on. It categorized every student second year through seventh. He even went and got a list of previous attendances. Those were categorized under " _GRADUATED STUDENTS"_ and that was the longest section.

Severus sighed. The wall clock clicked into the last seconds of September first. Eleven fifty-nine; forty-five, forty-six-forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine… Severus had to look away. The seconds dragged out in to hours. His eyes watered. He hadn't slept in nearly forty-eight hours. The first day of classes and Severus didn't get much sleep the night before. He was _not_ repeating that. If he went to sleep right then, he could squeeze in maybe six hours. Six-and-a-half if he hurried.

The little clock, set to only go off at twelve and six, chimed. Severus jumped. Hadn't the seconds been so long only a second ago?

*.*

Severus was dreaming. He knew that. It was scary – his occulmency walls were tight enough to make sure dreams didn't happen, so it couldn't have been generated in his mind. He tried to stay calm even as memories swirled around him. Some defining moments of his own life. It ended with the boy's sorting… and then it continued. Severus assumed this was the original future. It made sense. The timeline matched up to Potter's story. It was scary, seeing how he treated the boy. Knowing the truth, he realized that his words did more than he'd anticipated. The boy had only known abuse at the time.

Severus was never more glad that he wouldn't be tormenting a student. The future played out even further. The basilisk, the werewolf. Voldemort. Umbridge and the mutt's death – it had been partly Severus' fault for the last one. Dumbledore's, mostly, but partly Severus'. The beginning of the final battle. Nagini.

Severus shivered. That future looked horrible. Hate, anger, ignorance then death.

Severus was glad when it ended, but when it did, it didn't just end. It threw him away. Somehow, he was wrenched from sleep to wakeful-ness in a nanosecond. The little clock was chiming again. Six hours, exactly. Somehow though, Severus felt as though he'd slept eight.

He sighed. There was a double-period with the first-year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Perhaps he's speak to the Longbottom boy and get some more answers.

Mondays should be illegal.

Severus wanted to bash his head against the desk. The third Year Gryffindors and Slytherins had a pranking match – incited by Fred and George Weasley. Filch was going to have fun with those two.

Then it was lunch time. Severus spent the free hour preparing for the first years and second-guessing his resolve to question Longbottom. But class time arrived too quickly. Severus gave them his typical speech before setting them onto their first potion. There was a minor incident where one student's' boiled over, but other than that, everyone did their job. Thanking the stars that he wouldn't have to deal with the Slytherin-Gryffindor class until later that week, he called Longbottom back.

Severus sighed. He had his answers from Longbottom, but from what he discerned, Potter was the number one source if he wanted to know what was happening during the "Golden Trio Missing Moments", as Severus dubbed them. Sometimes, he was in a meeting, others, Potter took off on some unknown mission. The dream was fading fast, even with Severus' occulmency skills, and he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to remember everything. Longbottom told him to write it down, even though it probably was only supposed to give him a sense of foreboding and make play nice.

Yeah, Severus didn't play nice. "Nice" wasn't Severus. Although he would single Potter out, they two would know that it's all a show.

Since when did Severus put on a show? It must have been years… Dumbledore, yes, he remembered. Dumbledore wanted to know the truth and Severus didn't want to give it to him. That had been right after Lily died.

Severus made himself look all innocent and scared and agreed to be the potion's teacher, even though Severus and anyone who'd met him would say it was a horrible idea. It was. Severus could take kids in small amounts. Sure, smiling and laughing children are cute, but anything else? Not his problem. But now Severus has a reason to try to make himself be the potion's master Dumbledore wants. It would be fun to mess with the old coot's head.

*.*

When Thursday arrived, Severus nearly cried. He didn't want to deal with the animosity between Slytherin and Gryffindor. He wanted to ponder Lily's rebirth and drown in misery and happiness and confusion and drink away his migraine.

Well, drinking might not help the migraine. But anyways.

Severus had been watching Potter and his friends – hopefully, he and Draco could keep the hatred down to acceptable levels.

Dumbledore had seemed happy until he realized Potter had friends outside of Gryffindor. Then he got angry. Severus had been ordered to create a rift between Potter and Draco. Crazy old coot. When the classes arrived though, Severus did single him out. It would be fun to test what the kid learned during his first seven years.

 _ **Sorry that took so long! I know it's bad. If anyone wants to beta, please PM me.**_

 _ **Check out the poll on my profile to vote for pairings!**_


	13. Part 13: Chapter 12

Harry was the one sent to do scouting for their safe place. He didn't know why; he was, after all, Harry Flippin' Potter. People would notice if he wasn't around. Then again, he was Harry Flippin' Potter and could get away with just about anything. And it was a Friday night.

The first place Harry checked out (that was on Tuesday) was the Chamber of Secrets. The CoSmos. A quick chat with the basilisk revealed a few secrets. Her name was Ethelinda, and she was assigned by Salazar to obey his blood's wishes and protect the school. When Tom had taken control of her, he invoked the blood requirements, but had harmed a student in the process. After, he could not control her, thanks to him violating a condition – he had basically disowned himself… it was wonderful to think about.

But Ethelinda made it clear that she could not leave the Chamber of Secrets, so Harry noted that it could make a headquarters for people who'd bother being careful, but not a city, so The CoSmos would be a meeting area. Maybe a secret lair if they decided to be kids for once.

The next place that he thought of using was The Forbidden Forest. But a second thought stopped that. There were creatures in the forest that people would hunt; weather for sport or fear didn't matter. And some of those creatures would attack, it was their territory, after all, so it would be safe anyway. And being so close to Hogwarts wouldn't be a good idea.

So where was the farthest place from Hogwarts?

….

According to Aunt Petunia, it was somewhere between New Zealand and Antarctica. That was Thursday. New Zealand it was.

When Harry appeared on the island, it was late morning. Harry eyed the maps Aunt Petunia gave him – one with the population density and one with the geography. Harry immediately checked out the least populated areas.

Harry eventually settled on a site west of Queenstown. There was a small beach surrounded by mountains, and Harry thought it would be a good place to set up. And if not, there were several others that work too, farther south. Harry took pictures – hundreds of them.

Happy with his work, Harry noted the coordinates and returned to Hogwarts. He made the trek up to the Gryffindor dorms, not realizing that it was four in the morning.

….

Only to find Ron Weasley waiting up for him. Glad that he didn't do anything weird, like visibly apparate into a place you can apparate into, years before he was supposed to learn, Harry quietly closed the door behind him. "Is there something you need?"

Ron nodded. "I want to know why you hate me." Harry narrowed his eyes. "You insulted my family."

Ron shook his head. "No I didn't! Squibs are curses to the world, but your family are muggles."

Harry stiffened, "Don't pretend to know my life." He spat and turns to his bed. "But-" Ron tried to protest. Harry closed his curtains and cast a two-way silencing charm.

Harry stayed up for the rest of the night. A half-hour of meditation to get his temper under control was necessary, but after that, he began to plan the city. The capital building would be situated on the top of one of the mountains – that was for sure. Harry had pictures of all the largest cities in the world for reference as well. Maps, layouts, transportation; everything a city could need.

Most of the pictures got used. By the time Harry was done, there was a thriving community pictured. It vaguely resembled a cross between Rio de Janeiro and Seoul, the capitol of South Korea.

He even had a _favela_. By then, Harry knew he'd need to let the city evolve on its own. Besides, it was seven in the morning and Harry's stomach was asking for food.

*.*

Harry, Neville and Draco all sat at the Ravenclaw table Saturday morning. Harry had gotten used to seeing them as eleven year olds, but it was still a shock when they exited their minds, where they appeared their mental age. Nobody really looked at them oddly after they made it clear that sitting there was their intention. Even after only a week, the school was realizing that the three did their own thing, although it was the first time they sat somewhere that wasn't their own table. They had met up in the library every night before curfew. Harry took them into the Chamber of Secrets the night after he had met Ethelinda and ended up staying the night. The teachers had a heart attack when they didn't show up for breakfast that morning – they'd gotten used to the group chatting at one of the tables before separating to eat. Harry had a blast explaining the basilisk to Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, who seemed different in a way Harry couldn't figure out. In the end, Harry put it down to the memory alterations.

But on Saturday morning, the trio sat at the Ravenclaw table. Harry was showing Draco and Neville his photos and plans for a city. "Wow" Neville breathed. "You planned all this in a single night?" Harry shrugged. "I sort of had it planned out in my head, so I just applied it here and made altercations where the geography dictated it."

Draco grabbed one of the photos and scrutinized it. "It looks like a muggle establishment." He stated. Harry shrugged again. "Yeah well, there'll be anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards, so people'll be traveling mostly muggle-style. But everything does run on magic. Balls of light create well, light. Trains and metros will be directed by an MPS – er, Magical Positioning System. It's designed to act like a muggle GPS, which is a _Global_ Positioning System. Uses man-made satellites. Ours works differently, but the outcome is the same. Things like elevators and escalators also run on magic. It's basically a normal muggle city run on magic. Which is good because if any muggles stumble upon the city, they'll just think they got lost and are back in civilization. Besides, anti-muggle wards will be up too."

Draco nodded and put the picture down, picking another up. "What is a favela?"

Harry took a look at the photo Draco had. "A favela, in Rio, is an area of lower income people. There isn't much law enforcement, so sometimes favelas become overrun with crime. But sometimes, people do wonderful things. They create art and beautiful gardens and really do whatever makes them happy. People like the Weasley's could live there and Fred and George could open their joke shop and Molly could sell her wonderful food and Arthur could do all his muggle obsession stuff and nobody would care if it's against the law or not, because they would be doing the same things. Besides, there will be ways to detect things that break the law in harmful ways. Make sense?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah."

Draco just stared at Harry. "How long have you been planning this?"

Harry made a sound. "The idea popped in my head several years ago, but I had discarded it. When we arrived here, I thought for a while before this came back up. I still didn't think it could happen, but I indulged myself and now it's paying off."

Draco began laughing. His mouth never opened, but his shoulders shook and his breath was shaky. "You are wonderful. "I indulged myself" he says. Are you sure you don't see the future like Luna?"

Harry shook his head smiling. "No Draco, I don't."

There was a pause until Neville asked "When do we start building this?"

There was a short collaboration until Christmas break was decided.

"Until then, we research. How magical buildings are made, types of governments, best conditions for certain things. This city will be entirely self-sufficient so we need results."

* * *

 _ **Reviews are appreciated. Go check out my poll! To find out what a favela is, go to YouTube and type in favela rio de janeiro.**_


	14. Part 14: Chapter 13

Luna was bored. With Harry, Draco and Neville at school, altering things, her vision was infuriatingly vague. She couldn't even talk to them for fear of distracting them and getting them blown up. She could talk to them at night, but even then, it was really them making plans and one of the boys carrying it out. So Luna was spending her days exploring her limitations – she discovered that if she sent her soul to Neville, that would create the ghost-like apparition, which she used to speak to Professor Snape. But even more, she could do things, outside her body, like turn invisible. She used that to spy on Dumbledore occasionally, but she still felt left out.

Which was why when Harry gave her a mission, she was excited. He told her that she should receive the pictures soon after their conversation.

Building a city – a magical city – it was exciting.

The first thing Luna did was decide on a name – probably redundant for how far into development she was (that is to say, none), but she found that part the most fun.

After translating a couple of languages, she decided to call it "Vivir Para Loitar Outro Día". It was Galician for "To Live to Fight Another Day", but Luna figured they could shorten it to Vida – Galician for Life. Or perhaps they could call it Vida and have "Vivir Para Loitar Outro Día" be the "motto" of the city, like how "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus" was the Hogwarts motto. That was a good idea.

So naturally, Luna headed to New Zealand. At sixteen years old, Luna shouldn't have known how to apparate, but it was a war, so she did. Although, with the way dates lined up, with Luna arriving eight months before the other three, they were all mentally the same age. Luna shook her head to clear that thought.

"Hmm… Let's see. Capital Building will go up there, Harry says, but I can do, for the most part, what I want, right?" She muttered to herself. "What else? I need a shopping district; that can go over here. That's about half a mile from the capital; over here will be a residential district. Hmm… middle class, let's say. High class people will have to build their own mansions. Lower classes will get free housing over here."

By the end of the day, Luna had mapped out everything in a mile radius. A two mile across city seemed like all they'd need, but she gave another two miles to the radius, just in case.

"Hmmm…. What else? A school! Of course. Forgot about that. I'll have to do that tomorrow." As the sun set, Luna apparated back home. It was dawn. Right… Time difference. Luna had completely forgotten about that. She sent a quick message to Harry and disapparated again.

It wasn't for several more hours that anyone came down. Luna made herself comfortable on the Dursley's couch.

At seven-thirty in the morning, Lily came downstairs, followed by Petunia. Both stopped in shock to stare at the little blonde in their living room. "Hello? Who are you?"

Luna smiled. "I'm Harry's friend. Luna. He and the boys are planning a city – and I'm the one doing all the building. But I need help from adult wizards and witch."

Lily nodded and said, "Well we can help with that. Don't know much about magical buildings, but I can do some research and they boys'll help."

A tired voice asked "We'll help with what?" It was Remus.

"Hello Pr- Mr. Lupin."

"Er, hi?"

There were a few more stomps on the stairs and there was Sirius. "Hello Lily. Petunia, Moony. Random little blonde girl. I need coffee."

Luna smiled brightly. "Hello Mr. Black."

"Sup? Whatcha doin'?"

"I need you guys to build a city for me. It's in New Zealand."

"Ah. Okay." Sirius walked back upstairs with his coffee. Remus spluttered a bit; ""Ah, Okay"? Really? We don't even know her name!"

Luna watched at Remus ran after Sirius. "Well, that works. Now, Lily, I'm going to need a woman's eye for some of this. Petunia can help with designs and architecture."

Petunia broke out into a large grin. "Yess.."

Lily nodded. "That's great. What's our timeframe?"

Luna thought for a minute. "Well, we're going to try to make so that the city is never needed, but Harry's fourth year at the latest – that's when Voldemort returned the first time around. It's what Vida is for – it's a refuge.

"I want to have a street plan done by Christmas – after that, we start building."

Petunia asked "Will I be able to help with that?"

Shaking off the slight sudden lightheadedness, "Sorry. But I have something else for you. In the future, magic got dangerously close to being revealed to the muggle world. Harry thinks that we could have brought it back to secrecy, but just in case…"

The book that appeared in Luna's hands was large, at least several thousand pages long. "This is a recording of Harry's life. Can you write it down – release it to the muggle world to act as a buffer?"

Petunia took the book with a confused face, so Luna elaborated. "It would be like at first, muggles think the wizarding world is wonderful, 'cause they just see what eleven year old Harry sees. And they grow up with him and they see that magic isn't always good and they would know that yes, we're dangerous, but we're also a minority and frankly, your tech is just as useful as wands. They'd know that we've got good people and bad people and it's not any different from their criminals, and hopefully, it will be enough to stop an all-out war."

Petunia nodded again. "Is that all?"

The laugh bubbled out of Luna before she could stop it. "Oh no. Not at all. You may not have magic Petunia, but that doesn't mean anything. You could do potions rather easily, except for the few that need magic to work. Lily could teach you. Or Professor Snape, but he's at Hogwarts. You could make and sell brooms, but you'd have to hire someone to do the enchanting. There aren't many witches and wizards who want to make brooms, because they have to do it by hand since using magic would mess up the enchantments that make it fly. You could go to Gringotts and work with money. It's like a disabled person, almost. You can do anything you want as long as you're capable of it. Magic? No. Everything else? Yeah. You want to write a book about charms? Go ahead! You'll need to talk to the masters, but writing is something muggles are capable of. You be you, Petunia. If that means being a part of the magical community, just do it."

Petunia looked overwhelmed. Luna swayed a bit. "Oh… I need sleep. Can I crash on the couch?"

Luna couldn't sleep. Her body did a good job of shutting down, but her mind would slow. That was why she decided to annoy Harry. Making sure that the boys got the nicknames that Luna'd read off of Sirius and Remus, she materialized by Harry's bed, content to wait for him to wake up on his own.

"Wha…?" One of the other Gryffindor's had woken up and was staring at her. Luna grinned at him. It was her time.

"Who the hell are you!?" Ron shouted. Seamus jerked to a sitting position. Dean followed him at a slower pace. Harry grumbled and turned over. "Harry!" Ron shrieked. "There's a random younger-than-Hogwarts ghost-girl standing next to you!"

Harry just mumbled out a "Moon, go'way" and put a pillow over his head. Luna looked at him and said, "No. C'mon. up. We got things to do."

Harry sat up blearily. "Moon, it's a Monday. Lemme sleep as long as possible."

Luna sighed. "Li –"

Harry cut her off. "Don't call me that. If you're gonna give me a ridiculous nickname, make like, finite or something."

Luna shrugged. "Okay. Finite. I have gotten agreement to help from your family. Your "uncles" have agreed to do the legwork." Harry ran a hand over his face. "Okay? I mean, we weren't planning on doing anything until Christmas, but then we decided you might want to do it, but this puts us way ahead of schedule."

"Oh come on Finite. You like it."

Harry nodded his head. "Of course I do. But honestly, Ray, give me time to take a shower."

"Okay, what do we have so far?"

Draco shook his head at Luna. He thought that the nicknames were ridiculous, Luna could tell. She thought they were pretty cool – Moonshine, Ravendawn, Lifetime and Braveheart. Only Neville liked his, Braveheart. They had already changed hers! Harry and Draco were calling her Moon and Ray.

"We've got Severus on duty for the older students," He said, "He's got a list of people we can trust, those that will follow the crowd and anyone who will actively oppose us. We've got this year and incoming years, since we know them."

Neville nodded. "We're practicing wandless and wordless magic in the empty classrooms during the weekends, and making sure that our "powers" stay in shape too."

"I was thinking," Harry began slowly, "My cousin, Dudley, in the old timeline, began working out. He didn't lose much weight, but where before it was all fat, that weight was muscle. He could take on a professional wrestler if he tried. Might not win, but he could hold his own for a while." Harry paused. "I was thinking. No wizard will be expecting physical force. Once your wand is gone, that's it. No more fight, right? But if we do this – learn to fight physically – we'd win a lot more often. Martial Arts, I was thinking. Some kick-boxing, karate. Others. We'd be almost unbeatable."

Draco sighed. "Why is it always him that comes up with these things?"

Harry laughed. "You guys are wizard raised. I'm muggle raised. Muggles tend to look for the odd things to fix their problems. Wizards don't because they have magic. If Voldemort was smart, he would have put one of his horcruxes on Voyager 1. It's the farthest man-made object from Earth. It's not even in our solar system anymore. But he was thinking like a wizard. So we found the horcruxes and destroyed them. Which we should do soon, actually."

Luna said "I'm gonna be doing stuff while you guys are in class."

It wasn't until after breakfast the others would realize that everyone had been staring at them. Luckily, Luna put up a muffling charm.

*.*

Luna had great fun putting up her prank and watching the effects.

"It was the Gryffindors!" One of the Slytherins shouted. ""Silence is Golden!" It had to be them!"

"Well," A Gryffindor said, "Ours says "Duct Tape is Silver!" So it had to be you guys!"

"What in Merlin's name is 'duct tape'?"

It was a rather fun argument to watch.


	15. Part 15: Chapter 14

Not much happened until Halloween. It was just as painfully boring as Draco remembered it, except for the times when all four of them would meet up, which was happening less and less. It wasn't hard for Draco to see that Weasley was being a prat again.

It disgusted Draco. He had once acted like that. He felt like he didn't belong. Like the other three put up with him for his skill and not his person. Then one of them would go and make him feel accepted and the matter was pushed to the back of his mind. But when he saw others acting so, he couldn't help it. His insecurities – the ones he suppressed – just kept weighing on him.

Draco just pushed them farther down. It wouldn't do for a Malfoy to be insecure. He may not like some of the connotations that came with the name, but Merlin help him if he was going to be stopped for some what-ifs.

On Halloween, Neville and Draco pulled Harry, who had been "miserable" all day, away from everyone. When Dumbledore tried to stop them, they asked him, very loudly, why he wanted Harry to celebrate the deaths of his parents. That shut him up long enough for them to get away.

Harry played the part of sulky pre-teen very well. In actuality, they were hanging out by the entrance to Hogwarts waiting for Quirrel and the troll.

A quarter of the way into the feast, they showed up. Harry set a small explosion off near Quirrel's head, knocking him out.

The troll turned to them. Draco sent a diffindo at the troll, opening up a small cut on the things elbow. Harry cast an expelliarmus, sending the club flying. While it was distracted, Draco opened up two new cuts, one on its neck and the other in its face. Harry followed up and the two began cutting it up as Neville Wingardium Leviosa'd the club above its head. The troll went down the same way it had the first timeline.

"What on earth is going on here?" Professor Spout shrieked. Draco turned to see all the professors staring at them. "Hi?" Harry asked sheepishly.

"Boys," Professor McGonagall began, "please explain to us what we just saw."

"Well," Harry began, but stopped and shuffled toward Draco. He was staring at Dumbledore, who looked very interested in the story. Was it some kind of test?

Neville continued, "Well after we pulled Harry away, we decided that some fresh air would be good for him. But when we got here, there was the troll."

Draco told the story of what happened, and finished with "Quirrel wasn't doing anything. We didn't know what to do. We were scared that it could be faster than us and didn't want to turn our backs to go get a teacher."

Sprout nodded. "Okay then. Trolls are slow and dumb, so next time confuse it, then run to come get someone. You'll be fine. Now go to bed. Curfew was a while ago."

Draco blinked. "Really? It doesn't feel like it."

They started to trudge off, but Dumbledore stopped them. "My boys, if I may, why do you know such advanced spells?"

Neville furrowed his eyebrows. "Sir? What do you mean? We've already learned Wingardium Leviosa, and Diffindo will be later this year."

Dumbledore nodded. "And the expelliarmus?"

Draco glanced at Harry. His jaw was tensed. Draco knew he'd be listening to complaints about toothaches later. "When you walked into the rubble of Godric's Hollow and named me The-Boy-Who-Lived, you set half the population of the wizarding world against me. I'm sorry if I feel the need to defend myself."

The tips of Dumbledore's lips turned down, and when he spoke, he sounded like a disappointed grandfather. "Harry, I wasn't the one to pull you from your old home."

Harry had edged closer to Draco, and was gripping his arm. It was beginning to hurt. "I never said that. I remember everything. D'you wanna know what happened that night? Well I'll tell you. My father; he yelled "Lily, take Harry and go! Its him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" and then my mother did run. And Voldemort followed. My mother began begging, pleading for my life. She said, "Not Harry! Please..." and he told her to get out of the way. She didn't, begging "have mercy..." and he told her again. "have mercy... Not Harry!" and he told her to get out of the way you stupid girl. "Not Harry! Please — I'll do anything!"

A quick glance at the professors showed Draco all he needed to know. Their mouths were dropped open, and some were hyperventilating. Harry was stiff as a board, his hold on Draco not wavering at all. His eyes were glowing that unusual Avada Kedavra green that always unnerved people. Draco decided he like the look; an angry Harry was a protective Harry.

"The people who interacted with me. Like how Professor Snape came in and found me there, only feet away from the body of my dead mother, and how he decided that there were other people better suited to take care of me, and then Sirius arrived, and promised he'd take good care of me. But then Hagrid turned up claiming "Orders from Dumbledore". I even remember you shooting Professor McGonagall down when she warned you that my relatives were bad people. I even remember how my aunt seemed to care for me, all the way up until she touched the note you left me with. That night, Dumbldore, so many people began to hate me. I'm not afraid of them, but I am wary. And what of their kids? The ones who've been taught to hate me. Or the ones who remember? I don't feel very safe here, knowing that there are a good two-three hundred students who could kill me if they wanted."

"My boy, I highly doubt that anyone would attempt to kill you."

"You never know. It's called being cautious."

Harry turned and left, heading for the stairs. "I agree with Harry. I know that a lot of the kids of Death Eaters think that they have to kill him." Draco said as Harry dragged him away. From around the corner, Harry called out "I think Quirrel has a concussion. You might want to get him to Madam Pomfrey."

*.*

They had almost reached the stairs when Harry stumbled. Draco caught him, and thinking he just tripped, let go as soon as Harry was stable again.

Then Harry tripped again. Then stumbled to Draco, then collapsed. "Shit Harry."

In front of them, Neville stopped. _Is he okay?_

 _I think so. Go to bed, Neville. I'll bring Harry up to his dorm._

 _I'll check on him in the morning?_

Draco nodded as Neville walked off. He picked Harry up and immediately cursed. "When the hell was the last time you ate, Potter?" He whispered under his breath.

The trek up to the Gryffindor dorms didn't take long. Harry couldn't have weighed more than a child six or seven years of age. Upon reaching the Fat Lady's portrait, Draco plucked the password out of Harry's mind, noting that his mind was well awake.

The trek down to the Slytherin dorms didn't take long either. None of the other Slytherins were awake, which Draco was thankful for. They didn't hate him for being friends with Harry, thinking he was looking for an alliance, but they could get annoying. As soon as Draco touched the bed, he withdrew into his mind. The common room was open, and Draco found Harry pacing in it with Neville and Luna looking on.

"Harry? Are you okay?"

"Why can't I wake up?" He asked.

Draco frowned. "You passed out. What have you been doing to cause that? And when was the last time you ate? You're extremely underweight."

Harry's brow furrowed. "I've always been small. Besides, I don't have much of an appetite."

"Harry." Draco said, walking over to him, "We need to know what has you so closed up. You're worried about something."

Luna and Neville watched the interaction. Draco saw that they weren't really sure what to do.

"Well yeah I'm worried. I mean, what if this time everybody dies? I don't want that on my head again. I couldn't stand losing any of you. And when I sleep I get nightmares. I mean, I can't even get on a broom without freaking out. Fire too, anytime I'm neat it, I freak. There's something wrong with me."

Draco pulled Harry into a hug. Harry froze for a long second, stiff like before, the he relaxed. "I can't sleep. I have to prepare for everything."

Draco smiled. "Harry, I don't really care for all that. We'll be fine. Okay? You need your sleep. If I find that you haven't been getting ten hours a night, I will personally force a potion down your throat."

Harry giggled. "You're really out of it, Harry." Draco commented.

"Yeah. That happens when I don't get enough sleep. 'm tired, Draco."

"Good. Let's lay you down."

"'mkay" Harry flopped down on the nearest bed, which also happened to be Draco's.

"Harry."

"Yeah?" Harry slurred.

"You know I can't stand the garish shade of red that is your bed, right."

"Mmm"

"I'm not sleeping there."

"Mmm"

"Never mind. I'm sleeping here, and if you won't move, then we'll both be here."

"Mmm'kay"

Draco sighed, expanding his bed. "You're ridiculous."

"You love me"

Draco crawled into the opposite side of the bed as Harry.

From across the room, Neville commented "You two would make a cute couple."

Draco threw a pillow at him even as Harry muttered "We would wouldn't we?" in his half asleep state.

*.*

Draco woke up to Harry. Harry, who was as tiny as a seventeen-year-old could be without dying. Harry, who was currently curled around Draco as well as the warmest thing in the bed. And asleep. And adorable.

He was like a kitten, really.

"Did last night really happen?" Harry muttered.

Draco made a positive sound. "I really said that?"

"Mmhm"

"How mortifying." Harry's voice was flat.

"Yes it was."

"You're very warm."

"What does that have to do with how mortifying it is be tired and adorable Harry." Draco looked down at Harry, whose head was buried in Draco's chest.

"'m not adorable."

"Okay."

That was when Neville walked in. "You two are like a couple. I can see it now – **"HARRY POTTER, BOY-WHO-LIVED, GAY AND DATING DRACO MALFOY, SON OF SUSPECTED DEATHEATERS"** "

"Fuck you Neville. Fuck you." A drowsy Harry spoke. "I'm trying to sleep. Draco was right. 'm stressing too much."

"It's nice to be appreciated."

"You're always appreciated, Draco. 'kay? I love you. All'f us do."

Neville shoved them off the bed. "It's Friday. We got class." "Don't care" Harry grumbled, climbing back in bed. "Imma sleep a while longer."

Draco smiled at Neville. "I think I will too."

Neville narrowed his eyes. "Don't act all innocent. Both of you are obsessed with each other."

Draco's grin grew. Neville walked away.

Harry curled into Draco's side again. "Yer still warm."

"That's good. You are too."

Draco didn't go back to sleep for a while. He ran his fingers through Harry's hair, thinking. Neville had said that Harry was obsessed with him. Was that true? What did it mean if it was? Was he really obsessed with Harry?

It took another few hours for Draco to slip into sleep, one arm supporting Harry's head, and the other in his hair.

* * *

 **I did not mean for any Drarry-ness in this chapter, but it was all my mind would allow. They won't be a couple - at least, not anytime soon. They'll just be awkward. Don't forget to vote for pairings!**


	16. Part 16: Questions and Answers

**So I've been getting reviews about several things:**

 **1: Ron was grieving Fred and that's why he was such a douchebag.** ** _Yes he was. Harry isn't an idiot and will eventually accept Ron, but he will never be_** **close** ** _again. Same with Ginny, except he was hurt a bit more. Harry knows that Percy can be an uptight dick, and twins are idiots half the time. He'll make his own peace with these people eventually. For the most part, Harry will keep the Weasley's at arm's length... except, maybe, the twins._**

 **2: Drarry-ness:** ** _so far, it's about even with Harry/Luna on the polls, but it's what I'm leaning towards. I intend for them all to be awkward for the few years. If it does end up with Drarry, I won't be offended if you leave because you don't like it. That's your choice._**

 **3: I'm not portraying Draco well.** ** _Duh. He went through the war and was hurt and for the most part, traumatized. He will come to terms with the idea that he made the decision to become a Death Eater of his own free will. Right now, he is hurting, and so pinning the blame on his parents, who told him that serving the Dark Lord is an honour. That's what teenagers do; they blame their parents for everything wrong with the world. If you've ever been a teenager, you've done this. If you haven't (Why are you reading this?), apologize in advance to your parents for all the pain you will put them through. Give Draco a while longer to heal and he will become the the narcissistic asshole we all know and may or may not love. He'll just need to take things slow. Baby steps, y'know?_**

 **4: Hermione is missing: _That is correct. Harry, in canon, ignored Hermione, for the most part, until the Troll Incident. Hermione is a muggleborn witch, which means she is in a culturally different environment from the one she grew up in. She may make enemies without Harry and Ron to stop her (not that they really did much in canon), or, without friends or at least someone to talk to, her grades will fall and fall, simply due to ignorance and unnecessary stress. Harry will eventually notice this and decide that Hermione is someone worth being on speaking terms with, especially since she's only twelve years old. He'll decide to influence her perception of the wizarding world in general, but this won't happen until June or even their second year. Give them time, as young people, those who betrayed Harry in the original timeline will be influenced to Harry's side - and that sounds terrible, but it's essentially no different than Christian parents raising their kids Christian, or a Spanish speaker teaching a twelve-year-old English speaker Spanish. Thought processes alter to adapt to change, but don't really change in any other way; they will still be the same person at the core._**

 **Here's something to chew on. Emotions, on a physical level, are specific hormones released from glands in your body. My characters in the bodies of eleven year olds. That means they have eleven year old emotions and no sex drive whatsoever, despite being mentally the age where sex drive is at the max. They'll react to emotional stimuli as if they were really eleven. They will try to act their age, and might succeed, but they might not. There are going to be dilemmas and they'll need the care any eleven year old kid would. It's not easy being older than your body. They'll also be blown off by adults like all adults blow kids off. Only the ones who know the truth will bother to listen to their ideas and opinions. This is going to play a big role in the future.**

 _ **If anyone has questions or input, go ahead and comments them or PM me. I'd be happy to clear things up if you need me to.**_


	17. Info

So you're probably excited about the update. This isn't it. I have been agonizing over this story and come to the conclusion that the reason I am having so much trouble writing is because I don't know what to do. On the stories where this notice isn't posted, I have a path and end goal, and I am doing much better on those, so I am going to do the same for this. For the time being, this story is on hiatus until I can hast out a definitive path to take with this story.


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